Tourists who attend these tours to various historical sites in Antalya, particularly including the Side ancient city, mainly consist of university lecturers and famous intellectual figures. The number of tourists who visit Turkey for archaeological tourism is expected to exceed 200,000 by the end of the year.36,000 enthusiasts expected in the fall
Accordingly to estimates, some 36,000 enthusiasts of culture, history, faith and archeology from Canada, the US and the UK will attend the tours in Anatolia. Denise Allen, an archaeologist and an expert on archaeological tourism from the British Andante in Travel Archeology tourism agency, said that 24,000 people attended their 16-day Anatolian tours which covered İstanbul, İzmir, Cappadochia, Mardin, Şanlıurfa, Adıyaman, Hatay, Denizli, Burdur and Antalya in 2009. “Anatolia is like a huge open-air museum where hundreds of civilizations were blended with each other. In our tours, we enjoy the privilege of seeing all sorts of historical works from the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Great Seljuk, Anatolian Seljuk, Anatolian Principalities and Ottoman eras. Intellectual tourists from Canada have special interest in Ottoman works. They like to tour around the Topkapı Palace Museum. British tourists tend show interest in Anatolian Seljuk, Roman and Byzantine works. I think these tours contribute greatly to Turkey’s worldwide recognition,” she said.
Cardiologist David Mantkel, who works at a private hospital in Canada, said that it is the first time he has been to Turkey and he liked very much the historical and natural assets in the country. Noting that Turkey has a great potential for archaeological tourism, Mantkel maintained that Turkey should be promoted in Canada so that more enthusiasts of culture, history and archeology should visit the country.
200,000 tourists to come
Güner Kozdere, the manager of the Side Museum, indicated that the number of tourists visiting the museum was 99,000 in 2007,117,000 in 2008, and 136,000 in 2009, and they expect this figure to reach 200,000 in 2010. Pointing out that the number of visitors during the first half of the year is 80,000, he explained that they sold some 2,000 museum cards. He added that they have special discount programs for groups of foreign visitors. He also said that their museum hosts 11,905 historical works including 2,129 archaeological works.
