The number of tourists increased by 290 percent in Safranbolu
While approximately 325 thousand people visited the Safranbolu district of Karabük, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, in the first 6 months of this year, there was a 290 percent increase in the number of foreign tourists compared to last year. Described as the "fingerprint of the Ottomans" as it reflects Ottoman architecture, city life and culture, Safranbolu continues to attract the attention of local and foreign tourists. Resembling an open-air museum with its inns, baths, mansions, fountains, mosques and bridges, 325,000 tourists stayed in the district in the first 6 months. Mostly preferred by Far Easterners, 272 thousand 636 local and 52 thousand 364 foreign tourists stayed in the city. Safranbolu, also called the "capital of protection", takes its guests on a journey through history with its houses and cobblestone pavements built in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. Şebnem Urgancıoğlu Ergüder, President of Safranbolu Tourism Operators Association (SAFTID), stated that after the pandemic, in the first six months of the year, there were positive developments in terms of foreign tourists in Safranbolu. Expressing that there has been a 290 percent increase in foreign visitors compared to last year, Ergüder said, “This shows that we have started to go back to the pre-pandemic period. Although there is not a huge increase in the number of domestic tourists, it is still a pleasure to see an upward trend.”
Ergüder stated that Safranbolu was the apple of the eye of the Far East market, as it was before the pandemic; “As Safranbolu, we mostly host visitors from the Far East market, but we continue to welcome visitors from all over the world, from America, Japan, Malaysia, Italy, from all over the world.” Ergüder said that as an association, they continue their promotional activities by working on the right markets for Safranbolu.