More caravans expected to hit road after pandemic

ISTANBUL

Vacationers who avoid being in crowded environments due to the COVID-19 pandemic are preferring caravanning, with this surging demand and the pandemic forcing sector officials take its own measures to cater to this up-and-coming market.

While it is assumed that there are nearly 10,000-12,000 caravans in the country, caravan rental companies had difficulty meeting the surging demand that occurred with the outbreak.

As leading international rental companies have stepped into the caravan rental sector and fuel companies have initiated special “caravan-friendly” projects, other companies from various sectors have also started extensive works to meet the demand.

Fully equipped caravans are often rented in Turkey’s major cities for excursions to the countryside. But in the last 15 years, only 5,000 caravans have been produced in Turkey since there is a serious obstacle of high costs in converting vehicles under the age of five into caravans.

Turning a vehicle no older than five years into a motorhome creates a 160 percent tax liability in the country’s tax system. When vehicles over the age of five are converted into motorhomes, they can change the license class to be exempt from the special consumption tax.

Caravan rents in Turkey range from 500 Turkish Liras ($73) to 800 liras ($117) per day. Their sale prices vary between 130,000 liras ($19,000) and 300,000 liras ($44,000) depends on the caravan model.

Against this backdrop, more caravans are expected to hit the roads and more caravans are expected to be seen at camp sites, a novel means for holidaymakers.

And the country is also preparing to expand holiday opportunities with caravans, by building more caravan parks for campers.

New “caravan park” projects were prepared across Turkey for enthusiasts of caravans, which have been preferred recently.

Tourism routes will be created for caravan parks to be established at highlands and on the beaches.

Caravan users will also be expecting to see infrastructure services to be built such as social reinforcement areas, electricity and water supplies, picnic and walking areas.

The officials also plan to realize a project to offer Turkey as a caravan route for European tourists within two years.

But thorough works will be needed to cater to this new form of holidaymaking because some caravan owners say there aren’t enough caravan parking places in the country and that the roads and travel conditions are not sufficient.