"We give priority to market diversity"

The "Monthly Information Meeting" of the Turkish Hoteliers Association (TÜROB) was held at CVK Park Bosphorus Hotel Istanbul with the participation of Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.

In his speech at the event, Minister Ersoy expressed his happiness at meeting with sector representatives.

Pointing out that tourism income reached 46.3 billion dollars and the number of visitors reached 51.4 million people as a result of the steps taken in 2022, Ersoy said, "Compared with the 2021 figures, we have achieved an increase of 53% in revenues and 75% in the number of visitors."

Mehmet Nuri Ersoy stated that before the epidemic, Turkey was the 6th country among the countries that received the most visitors, and that it was the 3rd country in 2022, and said:

"We have declared our 2023 tourism targets as 60 million tourists and 56 billion dollars in revenue. Despite the earthquakes we have been through and the election process, we maintain our goals. In 2028, our target is much bigger: 90 million tourists and 100 billion dollars in revenue. Hopefully, as always, we will achieve our goals one by one with the devoted efforts and support of you, our valuable sector stakeholders."

"We give priority to market diversity"

Minister Ersoy stated that due to Turkey's geopolitical position, it may face crises today, as in the past, and said, "As the Ministry, we give priority to market diversity in order to increase our immunity against global and regional crises, to bring qualified tourists to our country and to increase tourism income targets."

Mentioning the promotional activities carried out through the Turkish Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA), Ersoy said, "Thanks to the TGA we established four years ago, we are promoting our country in a much more professional way."

Emphasizing that the GoTürkiye website, which broadcasts in 10 languages, reached 75 million unique visitors in the first 6 months of the year, Ersoy gave the following information:

"GoTürkiye Instagram account, with its 2.6 million followers, ranks third in the world after Australia and Dubai. In addition to these, we hosted 6,610 people from 89 countries in a total of 421 events we organized in 77 provinces in 2022. As a result of these hospitality, 50.3 billion press access and 601.8 million social media access were provided.

"Istanbul's gastro city title has been registered"

Noting that product diversity is one of the most important issues in tourism, Ersoy stated that serious studies are also carried out in the field of gastronomy in this context.

Adding that Istanbul has been included in the Michelin Guide, Ersoy added, "Thus, Istanbul's 'gastro city' title was also registered.
In addition, 53 restaurants in Istanbul were included in the Michelin Guide. New restaurants that will enter the guide and receive stars will also be announced by Michelin next fall. Our aim is to add a few more destinations from Turkey to the Michelin Guide in 2023."

Underlining that the most important way to increase competitiveness in tourism is to act with "sustainability principles", Ersoy said:

"Seeing this demand, we decided to bring regulatory standards to the industry. The transition in the program was planned to be carried out in 3 stages. The first stage of the program, which is planned to be completed by 2030, will be carried out in 2023, the second stage in 2025, and the last stage in 2030. In this process, it is aimed to meet all international standards. Accommodation facilities will comply with 30 percent of the standards set in the first stage, 70 percent in the second stage, and 100 percent in the third stage, and all facilities will be 'Sustainable Tourism Certified' in 2030.

Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said that the number of documents and certificates received by meeting the necessary criteria has reached 2 thousand 147 and that Turkey is the country with the highest number of certificates in the world, and that the facilities that are entitled to receive certificates with 100% compliance are announced on the Ministry, TGA websites and GoTurkey.

"We will fulfill the goals in Istanbul in the best way"

Stating that tourism is one of the locomotive sectors of the business world, Istanbul Governor Davut Gül said, "With the planning we will make after the holiday, we will fulfill the policies and objectives of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in Istanbul as soon as possible."

Thanking Minister Ersoy, the deputy ministers and the whole team for their support to Istanbul, Gul said, "We are lucky, we have a minister who knows the industry."

Beyoğlu Mayor Haydar Ali Yıldız also stated that they are honored to realize the tourism goals of the Turkish Century together and said, "The Turkish Century will be a century in which we will shout out our claim to the world, from education to health, from technology to science, from tourism to culture and art."

Yıldız expressed his belief that Beyoğlu Municipality will create beautiful works by cooperating with relevant institutions in the field of culture, art and tourism.

"We still feel the pain of earthquakes in our hearts"

TÜROB President Müberra Eresin pointed out that after the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes, normalization steps were taken with the cooperation of the public and private sectors, and said, "We still feel the pain of the earthquakes that caused significant loss of life and destruction in our province of Kahramanmaraş, which stifled us all. May God have mercy on our citizens who lost their lives, we wish a speedy recovery to the injured."

Emphasizing that the industry always rushes to the aid of his country and nation with the motto of "The Day is Solidarity Day", Eresin said:

"Our industry, without waiting for instructions from anywhere, has shown its sensitivity from the first moment of this disaster and has started to provide assistance and support within its means. As TÜROB, emergency supplies and search and rescue materials supplied by our members were directed to the region in coordination with AFAD, in particular, and relevant governorships, municipalities, chambers of commerce, non-governmental organizations and aid institutions. I would like to express with pleasure and great honor that the accommodation establishments operating in our sector have opened the doors of their hotels wide open for the shelter of our earthquake victims, without expecting anything in return."

Wishing that the election results would be beneficial for the country, the nation and the tourism sector, Eresin also wished God's mercy on Ömer Faruk Boyacı, one of the deceased former board members, and Dr Cüneyt Mengü, the Chairman of Mercan Turizm Board of Directors.

After the speeches, plaques were presented to the new members of TÜROB, and those who attended the meeting took a souvenir photo together.