Samsun's tourism push

Cemal Almaz, the Samsun Provincial Director of Culture and Tourism, stated that following the tourism and promotional activities that were initiated, the number of tourists, overnight stays, and day visits in the city increased by up to 50%.

The tourism promotion campaign, led by İl Kültür ve Turizm Müdürü Cemal Almaz, supported by local dynamics, along with Governor Orhan Tavlı and Samsun Metropolitan Mayor Halit Doğan, has begun to bear fruit in Samsun. As a result of these efforts, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of domestic and foreign tourists in every region of the city, which is also reflected in official statistics. Various parameters, such as the number of hotels, beds, travel agencies, tourists entering the city, passing tourists, the number of guests attending events, and overnight stays, have seen significant increases.

"Increases in important tourism parameters"

Cemal Almaz expressed that the efforts have begun to yield results, stating, "With the arrival of Governor Orhan Tavlı, a new management approach following the local government elections, and our parallel appointment, we declared a tourism and promotion mobilization in the city. Samsun has tourism richness in areas such as national struggle, natural beauty, the sea, gastronomy, and many other aspects. In this context, we have an abundance of resources. Therefore, we recently organized events, festivals, and activities focusing on this tourism diversity. These efforts have started to show results in the fields of culture and tourism. We have numerical data that we collect monthly, and when we compare these figures with previous years, we observe significant changes and noticeable increases. This indicates that Samsun is on an upward trend in tourism. These data, including hotel numbers, bed counts, travel agency numbers, the number of tourists entering our province, passing tourists, the number of guests attending events, and overnight stays, all show increases ranging from 10%, 20%, to 50%, which are very important for tourism."

"We predict that overnight stays, currently over 600,000, will exceed 1 million by the end of the year."

Almaz emphasized that the increase in tourism and tourist numbers is evident in the overnight stay figures, stating, "As a result of the efforts, not only the number of tourists entering the city but also the number of licensed facilities, sustainable safe tourism-certified facilities, bed numbers, star-rated facilities, and hotel numbers have all increased significantly. Consequently, the number of domestic and foreign guests coming to the city, the promotion of the city on various platforms, and its promotion on social media, as well as the efforts under the TGA (Turkey Tourism Promotion and Development Agency), have started to revive and increase the city's recognition. This momentum promises great potential for the coming years. We currently have nearly 12,000 beds and around 150 facilities in the city. As of now, we have exceeded 600,000 overnight stays. Considering that this figure was 800,000 at the end of last year, we predict that it will increase by at least 40%, possibly close to 50%, and easily surpass 1 million. This figure represents the number of overnight stays in the city. But Samsun has another feature—it is a transit route. For example, on weekends, the city's population increases by about 150,000-200,000. Especially during the summer season, being an important stopover point connecting the east to the west and vice versa supports tourism activity. In certain days and hours, especially in tourism areas, activity is observed. This activity does not yet affect overnight stays. Our main goal is to ensure that these visitors also stay at least one night in our city, thereby providing resources for the entire sector. For example, we expect 600,000-650,000 domestic and foreign tourists this year and 1 million overnight stays. We also estimate that around 1.5 million people pass through our city without staying overnight for various purposes.

"Our goal is to ensure that visitors stay longer in the city."

Almaz stated that Samsun will make a significant leap in tourism, adding, "Our current goal is to increase the quality and number of our beautiful facilities. We aim to keep the location more vibrant and increase the number of overnight stays, that is, to ensure that people who come to our city stay longer. This is our current target. These things are progressing in balance, but the most significant increase has been in overnight stays. The number of people increases as overnight stays increase. The number of people impacts overnight stays. Our most important tourism data is overnight stays. As the number or rate of overnight stays increases, it means that the contribution to the city's economy also increases. Visitors to the city spend a day here, shop, experience the city's gastronomy, explore commercial areas, and contribute to the city's economy. This is our main goal. Besides, there are fluctuations in the number of people entering by sea, air, and rail. Some have increased by 10%, some by 20%. But when we look at it cumulatively, it is very clear that Samsun is about to make a significant leap in terms of tourism, and it has already taken a few steps forward. All parameters confirm this."