Industrial Cultural Heritage Potential of Eskisehir

Cultural heritage tourism has increasingly been recognized worldwide, and is well-accepted as a significant new tourism trend. Industrial heritage tourism has rapidly increased in recent years as a new type of cultural heritage tourism. Eskisehir, a city located on the banks of the Porsuk River, to the west of Ankara, the capital of Turkey, has almost untouched industrial heritage tourism potential which is in expectation of being used as an attraction of tourist interest. Yet, although the city is undergoing rapid transformation as a result of this process and has become a tourism destination with new investments, sustainable strategies focusing on loyal tourists are still needed. The city provi des new attractions by way of hotels newly built, shopping malls, rehabilitation and environmental renewal of the Porsuk River, colorful nightlife, new museums and various events and festivals. Mo st of these activities and attractions could be considered the result of the transformation of industri al heritage. Eskisehir was the birthplace of brick and tile industry in Turkey. Nowadays, huge indu strial areas related to brick and tile production have lost their functions. The adaptive reuse of ind ustrial buildings in Eskisehir significantly differs from their former use and they could be transfor med to a new visitor destination. Because industrial heritage not only offers an advantage to conse rve the region, but also plays a vital role of developing new kinds of attractions in a highly com petitive market. The aim of this paper is to analyze the industrial heritage tourism potential of Es kisehir and provide suggestions for re-use and improvements of industrial heritage tourism in the city.