The official opening of the ITB Berlin, one of the world's largest tourism fairs, was held by German Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier.
From March 6th to 10th, the ITB fair hosted 10,000 participants from 181 countries this year, including Türkiye. Over 100 hotels, tour operators, travel agencies, and tourism-related associations and organizations from Türkiye participated in the ITB fair. Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Ersoy also attended the fair, where Alanya was promoted as it is every year. It was reported that while Spain, considered a rival destination for Türkiye, experienced a decline in reservation numbers, Türkiye showed an increase of 25-30% compared to the previous year.
'RESERVATIONS ARE GOOD'
The fair, closely followed by the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Ersoy, saw participation from Burhan Sili, President of the Alanya Tourism Operators Association (ALTİD) and Member of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Hoteliers Federation (TÜROFED), and Mehmet Dahaoğlu, Vice President of the Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation (ALTAV) and ALTİD. Dahaoğlu, providing information about the meetings, stated that regardless of which tour operator or travel agent representative he spoke with, the reservation figures were very good, and he heard statements indicating a surge of tourists to Turkey and Alanya. Dahaoğlu said that the fair meetings were quite intense, adding, "Ertan Sakallı, General Manager of Rewe Touristik, stated that there has been a 50% increase so far, and that they are targeting 300,000 people this year."
"FTI GROUP Shows Special Interest in Alanya."
Ayhan Hicabi, the Turkey Director of FTI Group, one of Germany's largest tour operators, stated that the company's target for Turkish destinations this year is 1.3 million tourists. FTI, the only tour operator in the German market that has seen growth over the past 3 years, has not deviated from its targets for Turkey even during times of crisis. Last year, the company also rented Alantur in Alanya, demonstrating its increasing importance to the region. Through an agreement with Corendon, they are bringing guests to Gazipaşa Alanya Airport (GZP) from 4 regions of Germany through package sales. They will continue with flights this year," he said. Furthermore, this year, the Turkish stand, which prominently featured promotions for the Trojan Horse and Göbeklitepe, also included promotional activities for Turkish cuisine.