People throng nightclubs as music ban lifted in Antalya

ANTALYA

With the lifting of the music ban in the southern province of Antalya, entertainment venues remained open until the morning for the first time after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, as people from the sector have high hopes of returning to the good old days.

The decision that bans music in venues after midnight, which started on July 1, 2021, within the scope of COVID-19 measures in the tourism city of Antalya, ended as of June 21 this year.

In Kemer, one of the districts of Antalya with the highest tourist density, three nightclubs welcomed the lifting of the ban as thousands of people had fun throughout the night.

Entertainment venue operators, who informed hotels and tour companies, played music and held dance shows until the morning.

Stating that the inability to play loud music after midnight in their businesses for a long time negatively affected them, nightclub operator Adnan Şeker said that they had a difficult time trying to explain the ban to foreign tourists who visited them after midnight.

“Being in the entertainment sector, we paid a lot of prices. With the lifting of the ban, we hope that we will quickly reach our good old days again,” said Ferhat Ünal, another club owner, adding that they hosted around 2,500 people in one night after the lifting of the ban.

İlker Yeşiltaş, the general manager of another business, said that the majority of those who come to have fun are Russians and citizens of Balkan countries.

Meanwhile, the western province of Izmir’s Governor’s Office also made some changes in the music regulation, pushing the live music limit from midnight to 4 a.m. for indoor venues and 1 a.m. for open entertainment venues.

Tourism experts, who evaluated the change in the regulation as a positive development, stated that this decision should not be abused and people should pay attention to the decibel limit in the region where hotels and entertainment venues are intertwined.

“If people in hotels cannot rest there due to the loud noise, the business of entertainment venues will also decrease,” said Necat Çelikok, the president of the Alaçatı Tourism Association.