May 09 2020 07:00:00 | Source: www.hurriyetdailynews.com

"Secluded Kalkan draws attention of local tourists wanting to holiday in isolation"

"As coronavirus lockdowns around the world are easing, the resort town of Kalkan on the Mediterranean coast is drawing the attention of tourists who want to holiday in isolation.

The town of Kalkan in the Mediterranean province of Antalya attracts the attention of those who want to spend an isolated holiday in the midst of nature as it has thousands of villas.

Some countries are seeking ways to open their tourism sectors in attempts to salvage their hard-hit economies, and Kalkan has stood out as a safe option for tourists with its villas.

Located just a stone's throw away from Patara Beach, which is considered one of the cleanest beaches in Europe, there are nearly 5,000 villas suitable for holidays, making it easier for the implementation of social distancing rules in Kalkan.

Domestic tourists in Turkey who are paying attention to the experts' warnings but do not want to spend the holiday season at home prefer villas in the Kalkan region rather than five-star hotels, according to tourism authorities in the town.

 "About 80 percent of those who spend their holidays in the Kalkan region are British," said Hüseyin Gencer, a tourism professional who provides rental services for 550 villas in Kalkan.

"Those who want socially isolated holidays due to the coronavirus outbreak started to prefer villas. People just want to choose alternatives that have their own pools and living spaces," Gencer noted.

The villas in Kalkan are categorized as "with an indoor pool," "with a jacuzzi," "with sea view" and "with a forest view."

Villas are usually rented weekly or monthly and the weekly prices of the villas vary between 5,000 liras ($700) and 30,000 liras ($4,200).

A couple of families who know each other can choose the same villa if they want, or they can have the opportunity to have an isolated holiday without seeing each other in the areas reserved for them, according to Gencer.

Durmuş Ustalı, another tourism professional offering 600 rental villas, said that the seaside villas were very popular.

Noting that Kalkan is preferred for being a quiet and calm town, Ustali added that there was an increased demand and received a pre-reservation with the market moving.

Last week, travel writers of the British The Guardian newspaper have shown Antalya's Patara beach, a few kilometers from Kalkan, among the cleanest beaches in Europe.

Kaputaş beach in Kalkan is also a natural beauty surrounded by sharp rocks and the beach is reached through 187-step stairs and preferred by many local and foreign tourists.

Turkey has declared 2020 the year of Patara, which has made Antalya's tourism professionals very pleased.

They believe that it will make great contributions to the promotion of Kalkan."