Local shops let down by dire circumstances
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Doğan News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 06, 2009 00:00
BODRUM - Signals of despair are ringing out in one of Turkey’s most popular tourist destinations Bodrum, a district of Muğla. The number of shops and their diversity has drawn a bad portrait of commercial life in the district, according to a study called "The Bodrum Shop Inventory" conducted by Yeditepe University Commercial Sciences Faculty.
Associate Professor Rıfat Kamaşak of the university, evaluating the research, said there was a huge accumulation on specific business branches in Bodrum: "There are 8,000 shops in Bodrum. Most of these shops focused on specific business branches. The municipality has to find an urgent solution to this problem. If they do not, everything will grow worse in the district.
Kamaşak said all business life focused on the season. "While there is intense economic life for six months in the district, the other six months is completely empty. It is a must to maintain economic livelihood in Bodrum, which is one of the most important tourist destinations. According to research, 91 percent of 8,000 shops have one employee. This damages the quality of service. Most of the shop owners do not follow sectoral innovations."
"Sixty-one percent of shop owners and 30 percent of workers in Bodrum are migrants. Tradesmen are coming temporarily for the tourism season. If nobody does something to protect the socio-cultural structure, it might be too late to do something to recover in the future," said Kamaşak.
Kamaşak said all business life focused on the season. "While there is intense economic life for six months in the district, the other six months is completely empty. It is a must to maintain economic livelihood in Bodrum, which is one of the most important tourist destinations. According to research, 91 percent of 8,000 shops have one employee. This damages the quality of service. Most of the shop owners do not follow sectoral innovations."
"Sixty-one percent of shop owners and 30 percent of workers in Bodrum are migrants. Tradesmen are coming temporarily for the tourism season. If nobody does something to protect the socio-cultural structure, it might be too late to do something to recover in the future," said Kamaşak.