The Youth and Sports Ministry's "Travel Enthusiast" project offers thousands of young people to explore historical, cultural and natural sites of the country and receive free accommodation in state dorms during the summer break.
The project, which started last year, has already benefited nearly 325,000 young people, and opens the doors of dormitories across the country to people between 18 and 30 years of age, thereby offering them the opportunity of visiting many landmark locations.
Following the academic break at universities, this year's implementation will begin on July 10, covering only the summer period. As part of the project, which includes all provinces except for earthquake-prone areas, dormitories, one for males and one for females, have been allocated.
While there is no requirement to be a university student for young people who want to take advantage of free accommodation in the dormitories, it is necessary to make reservations at least one day in advance for available spots.
"Last year, through this project, 325,000 of our young people between the ages of 18 and 30 were able to benefit from free accommodation in the dormitories of the Youth and Sports Ministry. Due to demand among our youth, we have decided to continue the project with the approval of our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan," Minister Osman Aşkın Bak stated during his speech at a dormitory in Istanbul.
"This year, we will provide an environment where our young people can stay for free during their travels to each province, with one male and one female dormitory available," Bak added.
The project aims to contribute to a better understanding of the country by young people and enable them to explore cultural values, the minister noted.
Stating that many in this age group, most of whom are students, cannot afford hotel expenses, Bak added that they will also provide a card that allows young people to visit museums for free or at a subsidized rate, in collaboration with the Culture and Tourism Ministry.
Ethem Yıldırım, a Sakarya University student, was among the young holiday-makers who benefited from free accommodation last year. He said he preferred camping in tents for holidays before he found out about the ministry's program.
Sharing his traveling experience last year, Yıldırım said that he started out earlier and traveled from the southwestern province of Muğla to Çanakkale further north, stopping by Aydın, the Ephesus ruins and Balıkesir, where he set up his tent. He also noted that he chose Sultan Çelebi Mehmet dormitory in the northwestern province of Edirne, one of his holiday stopovers, which helped him save some bucks owing to the free accommodation.