Museums and historical sites such as ancient ruins are also popular places for tourists. The biggest problem related to the museums and historical sites has been the unregulated stores operating on their premises.Tourists often complain about the poor quality and high prices of the goods and souvenirs such as Turkish coffee, Turkish delight and handmade crafts, sold at these stores, but the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has finally taken matters into its own hands and will regulate new stores to be opened in 55 museums and historical sites.
The ministry opened a tender for the operation of the stores, which was won by a company called Bilintur. The new stores will offer high quality Turkish goods to tourists at affordable prices. According to Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay, the stores will not only create employment for locals but will also use modern sales techniques.
The first of these stores will open in Topkapı Palace this August. The regulated stores will open in many museums and historical sites such as the Hagia Sophia, the Chora Museum, the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, the Hacıbektaş Museum, the Mevlana Museum, Ephesus, Side, Perge, Aspendos, Troy, Assos, and Pamukkale.
These new stores will allow both local and foreign tourists to shop without concerns about quality or price at several tourist sites across Turkey. Noting that revenue from museums and ancient sites will increase eightfold with the opening of new stores by Bilintur, which is affiliated with Bilkent Holding, Günay said they may open additional stores at airports and other places, providing jobs for more people. Certainly the quality of the service at these stores, all of which are expected to be opened by 2010, will prove itself over time.
