Camping trailer enthusiasts to meet in Istanbul on weekend

Turkey's largest festival for camping trailer enthusiasts will take place in Istanbul's district of Kilyos on the Black Sea coast this weekend.

"İstanbul Karavan Festivali" will bring together hundreds of trail owners, outdoor sports experts and nature lovers on an area of 40 hectares between May 13 and 15.

Several workshops, trekking activities and contests are going to be organized during the three-day event.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused a 30 percent jump in caravan sales in Turkey in a year and some 5,000 caravans are currently on the road across the country, according to a travel author.

"Like everything, the pandemic changed our travel and vacation mentality, too," Melih Uslu, the writer of the book "Anatolia By Car," told daily Milliyet recently.

Renting or buying a caravan may be in high demand nowadays, but Turkey is no stranger to the caravan life. The Turkish Camping and Caravan Society has been running since 1966. There is also a federation consisting of nine associations.

The travel author expressed that "white-collared workers between the ages of 25 and 40 are new caravan buyers."

Turkey could become a caravan hub in Europe, he added.

The camping sites in Istanbul, which offer an alternative vacation in tents with "fair prices," have become a new trend in the metropolis, with people flocking to the sites in the districts of Şile, Çatalca and Sarıyer.

The weekly rental price of a caravan is around 14,000 liras ($945).