Kuşadası expects 650,000 cruise visitors this year

More than 500 cruise ships are expected to visit the famous holiday destination Kuşadası in the western province of Aydın, bringing at least 650,000 travelers, the district's mayor has said.

The resort town, which is located on the Aegean coast, welcomes more than 1.2 million foreign and domestic tourists each year.

"Including the crew, the number of cruise visitors will be around 800,000. We are working on projects to boost cruise tourism. For instance, all shopping areas that will serve visitors have been renovated," Ömer Günel said, adding that a street festival will be held between June 10 and 12 to promote local cuisine.

For the first time this year, tourism agencies have inquired about where visitors

Günel also said that a total of 200 million Turkish Liras ($12.2 million) will be invested in the thematic Mars Colony project, which simulates life on the Red Planet.

Visitors will stay in capsules and be offered "astronaut foods," the mayor said.

"The project includes areas where people will be able to experience farming and surface research on Mars, and there will also be an astronaut training school and simulator. With this project, we aim to lure young people, people from Generation Y and Z, to Kuşadası," Günel said.

The Mars Colony is expected to attract around 120,000 tourists each day, he added.

The municipality also launched the Kamp Inova project for "digital nomads," according to the mayor.

"The project, which targets local and international digital nomads, who seek a quiet environment in the nature to work, will be completed in 2023. It will have a developed internet infrastructure, which will allow people to stay in those facilities throughout the year both to work and vacation,"...