The Inter-Municipal Development and Strategic Planning Conference, where studies on European Union grant-funded projects are being prepared, was held at the Alaiye Resort Hotel with the participation of Romanian and Turkish representatives. Attended by municipal, chamber, and association executives from both countries, the conference serves as a continuation of meetings held in Greece, Romania, and Bulgaria. It was stated that the purpose of the meetings is to increase the capacity development of municipalities, and to determine common roadmaps and prepare reform processes regarding strategic planning, joint project production, and management issues.
“THERE ARE ONE THOUSAND COMMON WORDS IN TURKISH AND ROMANIAN”
Hayri Çavuşoğlu, Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey Ahmet Davutoğlu, who delivered the opening speech, stated that they have made great progress in the project they launched 10 years ago. Stating that they have implemented significant projects between municipalities on student and culture headings, Çavuşoğlu emphasized that he is happy to get to know the Balkan people, especially Romania, and noted that there are many shared values, with a thousand common words existing only in Turkish and Romanian.
“OUR TARGET IS TURKISH BUSINESSPEOPLE”
Florian Dudu, President of the Romanian Union of Municipalities, stated that their primary goal is to bring Turkish businessmen to Romania to ensure they make investments, and added that tourism professionals and businessmen from Alanya have always welcomed them with great importance.
“THERE ARE NEARLY 35 THOUSAND HOUSES OWNED BY FOREIGNERS”
Alanya Mayor Adem Murat Yücel, who began his remarks by providing information about the history of Alanya, stated that according to 2014 data, Alanya has a bed capacity of over 200 thousand. Expressing that 17 thousand resident foreigners reside and invest in Alanya with nearly 35 thousand housing units, Mayor Yücel emphasized that the population of nearly 300 thousand approaches 1 million during the summer season.
“THEY CAN LIVE ON A EUROPEAN SALARY”
Stating that Alanya holds the status of a disability-friendly city, Alanya District Governor Hasan Tanrıseven expressed that citizens who have retired in European countries would be able to live very comfortably in Turkey with the pensions they receive.
“4 MILLION GUESTS EVERY YEAR”
Alanya Turistik İşletmeciler Derneği (ALTİD) Vice President Hızır Bozdoğan also stated that it is possible to swim comfortably in every meter of Alanya's 80-kilometer coastline and provided the following information: “We have 68 Blue Flags, which indicate that we have clean seas. With an average of 4 million guests per year, Alanya tourism's share is 10 percent of the foreign visitors coming to Turkey and 31 percent within Antalya. In 2015, a capacity of 4,254 beds in 7 new facilities was opened for service. Alanya is one of our country's most important tourism destinations, accounting for approximately 10 percent of the total tourism revenue of the country.”