“Future is in Tourism” initiative aims to develop aromatherapy tourism and generate income for more women in Köyceğiz

Köyceğiz district of Muğla is one of the 18 slow cities (Cittaslow) of Turkey and now is ready to become the aromatherapy centre of the region with the Home of Aromatic Plants, which was established within the Future is in Tourism programme. The tourism sector in the district, affected by the forest fires in August, is being revived with the support of the initiative carried out in partnership with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Anadolu Efes. With the Home of Aromatic Plants, partners aim to make Köyceğiz a new route for aromatherapy tours, and to generate income for women through the sale of aromatherapy products and the organization of workshops.

Köyceğiz has an enormous richness of medicinal and aromatic plants. Extracted from the local sweetgum trees, sweetgum oil has been used in pharmacy and perfumery for centuries. Inspired by this richness of the district, the Home of Aromatic Plants was established in 2021 by Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University Faculty of Tourism, Köyceğiz Municipality and Köyceğiz District Governorship. It is located in a historical mansion allocated by Köyceğiz Municipality where renovation works started in July 2020.

A series of workshops on various topics such as candle making with aromatherapy oils, physiotherapy with aromatic plants, brewing coffee with aromatic plants, eco-print, zero waste and entrepreneurship were held at the Home of Aromatic Plants, which was introduced at an event held on the occasion of World Tourism Day. Moreover, experts trained local people on different subjects such as sustainable development, slow city movement, eco villages, sustainable routes, production of medicinal and aromatic plants, and climate change. A total of 856 people, 783 of whom were women, attended the workshops and trainings held between February 2020 and May 2021. It is aimed that women who participated to the trainings become trainers in the upcoming workshops or establish their own businesses. In order to ensure the continuity of the works carried out at the centre, an association that includes women in the region will be established.

Besides Home of Aromatic Plants, Future is in Tourism, which aims to increase best practices on sustainable tourism in Turkey, supports two other initiatives in the 2020-2021 period: A Journey of Linen in Ayancık and Kars Cheese Route.

Future is in Tourism

Future is in Tourism is being implemented for 14 years with the cooperation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Anadolu Efes. The programme which helps revealing Turkey's sustainable tourism potential, also contributes to local development and women's economic empowerment through supporting local projects. Future is in Tourism supported 200,000 people with 19 projects so far. Approximately 500 women were directly or indirectly employed. Collaborations were made with 600 NGOs and 23 universities.