The Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB) is preparing to launch a brand-new project as part of its efforts to achieve high targets in tourism in line with the ‘Turkey Century’ vision outlined by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Speaking at the presentation meeting of the ‘Tourism Century’ project, TÜRSAB Chairman of the Board Firuz Bağlıkaya stated, ‘In order to gain a competitive advantage in the tourism sector, we aim to spread tourism across all 12 months and throughout the country with an approach that highlights our history, culture, and other tourism types where we excel, and to increase our visitors from the high-income group.’
TÜRSAB is initiating a new project to advance in accordance with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ‘Turkey Century’ vision and to contribute to national tourism. The project aims to spread tourism throughout the year and across the country; TÜRSAB Chairman Firuz Bağlıkaya noted that Turkey has great potential both in terms of product and human resources to do much better in promotion and marketing. Bağlıkaya added, ‘Just breaking our own records by looking at the natural growth of tourism is not enough for us. The issue over time is not just to do better than what we have done, but to do better than what our competitors have done.’
THE BIGGEST SUPPORT FOR TURKEY’S DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH COMES FROM TOURISM
Announcing a new work plan to raise the flag higher in tourism, Bağlıkaya said, ‘In the last 20 years, our country has taken very important steps in terms of development and growth. After the work carried out, all sectors have received their share of this development. As before, we desire to offer the greatest contribution to this development and growth as a sector. We are aware of the economic problems we face. Tourism is one of the strongest instruments we have to overcome these problems.’
NET FOREIGN CURRENCY CONTRIBUTION, EMPLOYMENT, DIRECT INCOME
Bağlıkaya stated, ‘Tourism is a direct source of income for our citizens, providing net foreign currency contributions to our economy and resources to over 50 sectors, creating employment,’ emphasizing that competition in tourism is very sharp and countries are working hard to increase their tourism figures. Bağlıkaya, noting that the country has achieved great success in many areas of tourism, said, ‘Spreading tourism over 12 months and evenly across the country, increasing the rate of high-income tourists are among our biggest goals. Achieving better in tourism is a responsibility that needs to be taken not only by our Ministry and tourism professionals but by everyone living in this country. Tourism is indispensable for our country. Local governments, chambers of commerce, development agencies, NGOs, the local population, and all local elements must be part of this effort.’
‘THE IMPORTANT THING IS TO DO BETTER THAN OUR COMPETITORS’
Bağlıkaya noted that Turkey has great potential both as a product and in human resources to do much better in promotion and marketing, ‘Just breaking our own records by looking at the natural increase of tourism is not enough for us. The issue over time is not just to do better than what we have done, but to do better than what our competitors have done.’
GOAL TO SPREAD TOURISM TO 81 PROVINCES
Emphasizing that Turkey is in a more advantageous position than its competitors, but the number of tourists coming to the country is far below the current potential, Bağlıkaya said, ‘We have a tourism product that can be offered in all four seasons, yet the months we receive tourists are limited to certain months. The number of visitors to Turkey in January-February-March and November-December is 14.5 million, making up 29% of our total visitors during this period. In the same period, Spain receives 31.2 million people, making up about 37% of their total. Our goal is to extend tourism as much as possible to the months outside the sea, sand, and sun season.
Almost 75% of the tourists coming to our country arrive in a six-month period, and 25% in the other months. Contrary to the targets of tourism, we are more concentrated in the summer months. Our goal should be to extend tourism as much as possible to the months outside the sea, sand, and sun season.’
Bağlıkaya stated that another long-term goal has been to ensure that tourism is evenly spread throughout the country; Istanbul, Antalya, Muğla, and İzmir hold a 75% share, with only 25% of the tourists distributed to other provinces. Bağlıkaya emphasized that the goal is to spread the capacity stuck in 5 cities to every corner of the country.
‘WE MUST EXCEL IN OTHER TYPES OF TOURISM AGAINST OUR COMPETITORS’
Bağlıkaya, noting that Turkey maintains its market position as a destination for affordable vacations with good facilities and services, stated, ‘It is not possible to reach the 12-month and nationwide tourism goal by repeating what we are currently doing, and to increase the number of tourists from high-income groups. Even if we increase the number of tourists by building second, third, and fourth-tier hotels in our holiday resorts, the direction of tourism does not yield a high tourism income that would put us ahead of our competitors. We are primarily competing with all Mediterranean countries that offer sea, beaches, and sun products. We need to highlight our history, culture, and other tourism types in which we excel in the competitive field, and we must place more emphasis on areas where we can make a difference.’
‘THE PURPOSE OF THE TOURISM CENTURY’
Announcing that TÜRSAB, with half a century of experience, 15,000 members, hundreds of thousands of employees, 35 Regional Representation Boards, and 15 Specialized Chairmanships throughout the country, has started the ‘Tourism Century’ project to accompany the ‘Turkey Century’ vision, TÜRSAB Chairman Firuz Bağlıkaya shared that the purpose of the ‘Tourism Century’ project is not to see Turkey as a single destination and market it as if it were a single tourism product with central structures, but to treat each region as a separate tourism destination with its outstanding values.
Bağlıkaya listed the activities to be carried out in this context as follows;
- We will compile important plans and inventories of current work to make them functional,
- We will provide special training to travel agencies across Turkey as part of the project,
- We will develop marketing strategies specific to the tourism values of the region and plan promotions,
- We will determine target fairs suitable for the prominent tourism features of the regions and ensure the free participation of our travel agencies,
- We will process local legends and stories for tourism purposes, turning them into products that contribute to the tourism economy as cultural and artistic elements,
- We will create promotional materials related to touristic products specific to the regions,
- We will organize destination-based tourism workshops to increase the role of the local population in tourism activities, and we will increase local awareness of tourism values and the tourism economy.
Bağlıkaya continued his words as follows;
“It must be remembered that a tourism element can only be turned into a sellable product and reach its consumer through travel agencies. As we implement the ‘Tourism Century,’
We will benefit from the experience of TÜRSAB Specialized Chairmanships, the local strength of our Regional Representation Boards, the knowledge accumulated by TÜRSAB Academy and TÜRSAB R&D departments, and the informative broadcasts of TÜRSAB TV. Thanks to TÜRSAB Rota, which is an affiliate of TÜRSAB, we will utilize the strength of our 15,000 travel agencies across Turkey to enable the sale of tourism products by all travel agencies.”
Bağlıkaya, expressing TÜRSAB’s belief that tourism can offer much more to Turkey, said, “We are in a period when world politics and sociology are heating up much faster than global warming. Tourism is the antidote to this dangerous warming. Just as tourism can offer more to Turkey; with this vision, Turkey can also offer more to the world. We, at TÜRSAB, are ready with our knowledge to make the right move at the right time, being decisive, courageous, and faithful. Tourism can offer much more. May the ‘Tourism Century’ bring good fortune to our country.”