In the project spearheaded by the Alanya Tourist Operators Association (ALTİD) in partnership with Alanya Hamdullah Emin Paşa (HEP) University and financed by the Western Mediterranean Development Agency (BAKA), the Alanya District Governorate, Alanya Municipality, Süleyman Demirel University, and the Alanya Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ALTSO) will contribute as project participants.
The objective of the “Alanya Tourism Sector Clustering Strategy Development Project” has been defined as “examining the current state of the Alanya tourism sector, particularly in the accommodation field, by following a clustering approach, evaluating its future development potential, and preparing a ‘Clustering Strategic Roadmap’ to ensure the formation of a cluster with enhanced competitiveness and ensured sustainability, as well as designing the necessary organizations to implement this.” Within this framework, it is planned to design a “Strategic Roadmap” for a five-year period, with the first year being detailed, based on findings reached through a series of interviews and various meetings held primarily with representatives of the sector's businesses operating in the accommodation field and all institutions and organizations that contribute to them by providing goods, services, information, or documents. In order to achieve effective results regarding the project, the “Alanya Tourism Sector Clustering Strategy Development Project” is envisioned to be carried out in a participatory and collaborative process with the businesses operating in the tourism accommodation field and their relevant stakeholders. Podium speeches were also delivered at the project introductory meeting held at Alanya HEP University:
“WE ARE HOSTING AROUND 4 MILLION TOURISTS”
Burhan Sili, Member of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Hotel Association (TÜROFED) and President of ALTİD: “Alanya is a region that entered tourism in the 1950s. We have 301 Ministry-certified facilities, and these facilities have a capacity of approximately 125 thousand beds. And with an equal number of Municipality-certified facilities, we possess a volume that accounts for 10 percent of Turkey's capacity in the accommodation sector and 30 percent of the Antalya region's capacity. We host around 4 million tourists in Alanya every year. In the meetings we will hold with our stakeholders within the scope of this project, by examining the pros and cons of our sector through statistical studies, we will be able to take concrete steps toward the future of the tourism sector and formulate our regional tourism strategy.”
“ALANYA IS A HIGH-CAPACITY REGION”
BAKA Secretary General Mehmet Sırrı Özen: “Alanya, despite being a district, is a region that appears like a city and possesses high capacity in every sense. The correct work, realistic data, and good analyses to be carried out here are of great importance for a more comprehensive clustering program to be implemented hereafter. As BAKA, we are happy to support Alanya's clustering approach.”
“GOOD WORK AGAINST CRISIS DISCOURSE”
Alanya HEP University Rector Prof. Dr. Erol Sayın: “I believe that the project will yield very good results in order to manage the future of the sector. It will be a good study regarding the crisis rumors arising in the tourism sector.”
“WE WILL PROVIDE SUPPORT AS A MUNICIPALITY”
Alanya Mayor Adem Murat Yücel: “I believe that the sectors providing goods and services to our accommodation facilities, which are the locomotive of tourism, will make significant contributions to our region by acting in harmony. As the Municipality, we will provide all possible support to ensure that the roadmap to be developed achieves success.” At the end of the speeches, Süleyman Demirel University Department of Economics Faculty Member and Project Coordinator Professor Dr. Murat Ali Dulupçu completed the introductory program by delivering the project presentation.