Within the scope of efforts to attract high-quality tourists from Gulf countries, Kuwaiti travel agency officials were hosted in Alanya in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Western Mediterranean Development Agency (BAKA), and the Alanya Association of Tourism Professionals (ALTİD). A dinner was also provided by ALTİD for the delegation, who had the opportunity to explore the historical, cultural, and touristic sites of Alanya. The dinner, held at Red Tower Restaurant, hosted 9 travel agency officials with high turnovers from Kuwait and 1 member of the press, and was attended by Alanya District Governor Erhan Özdemir, Alanya Mayor Adem Murat Yücel, ALTİD President Burhan Sili and association executives, and BAKA officials. During the speeches made during the dinner, Kuwaiti officials used the expression “among the places that must be seen before dying” when speaking about Alanya.
‘FLIGHTS WILL BEGIN’
Air Arabia official Mohammed Eldesouky, who was in the delegation, provided the following information: “On the second day of Eid al-Fitr, July 29, reciprocal direct flights between Sharjah and Antalya will commence. Air Arabia’s scheduled direct Antalya flights will be operated reciprocally from Sharjah Airport, located 25 kilometers from Dubai, and in the first stage, flights will be conducted three days a week with 160-seat aircraft. Thanks to Air Arabia’s extensive flight network in the Gulf, the flights will also bring passengers from surrounding countries to Antalya via connecting flights.”
THE FOLLOWING NAMES ARE INCLUDED IN THE KUWAIT DELEGATION:
The Fam Trip program includes Mohammed Eldesouky from Air Arabia, Hasouna Hammam and Said Osman from Khaitan Travels, Shabbir Hussain from Burhan International, Shabbir Asgarali Bohri from Bobyan Travels, Tameem Afaneh from Ritz Travels, Bijumon Chacko from Caesars Travels, Karthikeyan Padmanaban from Jumbo Travels, Mohammad Alnamshan from Al Khaleej Travel, and press member Dania Chouman from the Kuwaiti delegation. Accompanying the guest delegation are BAKA Isparta YDO Coordinator Ali Galip Bilgili, experts Selin Şen and Seyitcan Altınkaynak, and Ministry of Culture and Tourism General Directorate of Promotion Gulf Market Country Specialist Burça Yalçın.
KAZAK PRESS IN ALANYA
On the other hand, the Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation (ALTAV), continuing its Alanya promotion strategy with foreign press members, hosted journalists from Kazakhstan in Alanya for 3 days. During their stay in Alanya, the press members were informed about the real estate and tourism sectors. The Kazakh delegation was introduced to the city's historical and cultural sites through tours conducted by the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB) Alanya Regional Executive Board (BYK). At the conclusion of the 3-day trip, a dinner accompanied by a magnificent view of Alanya was held for the delegation, which was also attended by Alanya Mayor Adem Murat Yücel.
‘POPULATION IS APPROACHING 1 MILLION’
Speaking at the dinner, Mayor Yücel stated that the population of Alanya, which is 300,000, approaches 1 million during the summer months, saying, “Guests from 72 countries come to Alanya. We host one-third of the foreign guests who come to Antalya in Alanya. With the continuous development of Gazipaşa Airport, located 20 minutes away from Alanya, we will push these numbers even higher. As a municipality, by joining hands with the non-governmental organizations in our region, we are working for the welfare of the approximately 26,000 foreigners who purchase real estate from Alanya and for our guests who come for vacation.” Emphasizing the importance of hosting foreign press members in Alanya with institutions such as ALTİD and ALTAV, Mayor Yücel said, “Tourism and the press are an inseparable whole. Promotion is indispensable for tourism. For this reason, you Kazakh guests are very important to us. We will be happy to see you among us in the future processes.” Kazakh press members, on the other hand, stated that Turkish series are watched extensively in Kazakhstan and expressed that Turkey holds a ‘Big brother’ position for them.
THE FOLLOWING NAMES ARE IN THE KAZAKH DELEGATION:
Naziya Zhoyamergenkizi and Maksat Kusainov from the Türk Gazeteciler Kurumu, Izbasar Shynar from Akikat newspaper, Bayan Seydalina from Kazak Radyo, Askar Aktileuov from Tilshi newspaper, Saniya Abdigappar from Medeniyet newspaper, Akniyet Ospanbayeva from Türkistan newspaper, Kanezova Farida from Türk Alemi newspaper, and Yerlan Niyazov from 1 Mag magazine were part of the delegation as press members, while Aidana Mukanova from Kaztourism agency and Fauzıya Kulys from Daphne Travel were in the group as Kazakh travel agents.
‘WE HAVE SIGNED AN IMPORTANT STUDY’
Stating that they have undertaken very important promotional activities with the presence of both delegations in Alanya, ALTİD President Burhan Sili made the following assessment: On one hand, we are hosting domestic and foreign press members, and on the other hand, we are hosting representatives of domestic and foreign agencies, tour operators, and airlines in Alanya. While making an effort to gain market share from different markets, we are also placing emphasis on the promotion of Gazipaşa Airport in parallel. By ensuring the presence of the distinguished Kazakh press, Kuwaiti agency managers, and Air Arabia officials in Alanya in this regard, we have once again undertaken an important work.