EMITT – Eastern Mediterranean International Tourism and Travel Fair opened its doors to visitors for the 22nd time this year. The fair, which ended on January 28th, featured a special Alanya stand of 63 square meters organized by the Alanya Tourism Operators Association (ALTİD). In addition to many tourism professionals from Alanya, Alanya Municipality Mayor Adem Murat Yücel, who is also the President of the Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation (ALTAV), and ALTİD President Burhan Sili, along with ALTAV Vice President Mehmet Dahaoğlu, personally supported the promotional activities. PARTICIPATION FROM 102 COUNTRIES During the four-day fair, representatives from Alanya conducted meetings at the specially prepared stand. The fair, attended by 1,676 invited tour operators from 102 countries, also saw direct sales. Furthermore, brochures, promotional materials, souvenirs made from silk cocoons, and Alanya bananas were distributed to visitors of the stand. 'GOOD NEWS AT THE FAIR' Alanya Municipality Mayor and ALTAV President Adem Murat Yücel said, "We started receiving good news from the opening of the fair. Our Minister of Culture and Tourism, Numan Kurtulmuş, delivered an opening speech and announced important news that would greatly impact the sector. The most important of these was the fuel support for Gazipaşa-Alanya Airport (GZP). Our Minister Kurtulmuş announced that the flight support provided to agencies during the low season would be increased from $1,500 to $9,000. Furthermore, we learned with great joy that the support of $25 per passenger for cruises, another important sector for Alanya, would be increased to $45." 'SMILES IN 2018' Burhan Sili, Member of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Hoteliers Federation (TÜROFED) and President of ALTİD, also said: "EMITT opened its doors for the 22nd time this year. We have been participating in the fair since its inception, which is the 22nd time. As an organization that takes place at the international level and is considered one of the top 5 most prestigious tourism fairs in the world, it is a very important fair. This is a separate chapter for Turkish tourism. The fair is also of great importance for the domestic market. For all destinations, including ours, the domestic market is important. Especially considering where it is now after two years, the domestic market is indispensable and cannot be ignored. In this regard, it lasted for four days, with the first two days dedicated to professionals, and contacts were made for direct sales. Negotiations and planning were made between hotels and agencies based on demand. We can say that we received signals that we will see much better days in 2018."