The ordinary board meeting of the Türkiye Otelciler Federasyonu (TÜROFED) was held in Ankara. The meeting, where suggestions and evaluations regarding sectoral issues and problems were made, and information about TÜROFED's activities was shared, was attended by TÜROFED President Ahmet Barut, Vice President Seçim Aydın, Secretary General Gürel Aydın, and board members: Sururi Çorabatır, Osman Ayık, Gülçin Güner, Haluk Nişlioğlu, Zeynep Silahtaroğlu, Tayyar Zaimoğlu, Ahmet Tok, Halil Özyurt, Suphi Dilmen, Yavuz Torunoğulları, and Gürhan Hurda.
Following a board meeting, a working dinner hosted by TÜROFED was attended by Minister of Culture and Tourism Ertuğrul Günay, Undersecretary İsmet Yılmaz, Deputy Undersecretary Özgür Özaslan, Director General of Promotion Cumhur Güven Taşbaşı, Deputy Director General of Investment Enterprises Zeki Can, and Chairman of the Board of Auditors Fikri Kolenoğlu. The dinner focused on current issues in the tourism sector.
During a working dinner, the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Ertuğrul Günay, stated that they had conducted a beneficial collaboration with TÜROFED, adding the following: "Our colleagues are working with a very effective approach to cooperation and solidarity regarding the problems of the tourism sector. We are constantly achieving the positive results of this approach. Within this close collaboration, the problems and difficulties caused by the recent ash cloud issue originating from Iceland have been resolved in Turkey in an exemplary manner. While this issue has led to various complaints and even expectations of unfair gains in other countries around the world, Turkey, through the solidarity within the Turkish tourism sector, has resolved this issue in a way that will positively enhance the image of our country in the world. We, as a ministry, are following the issues that TÜROFED addresses, ranging from infrastructure service unions to energy support. We will work together to achieve positive developments in these areas in the coming days. One of our fundamental goals is to enact the basic law of an organization that will bring together the major components of the tourism sector under one roof. We have made significant progress in this regard. Efforts are nearing completion to create a framework that will bring together travel agencies, investors, and operators under one umbrella. We have shared our draft law with TÜROFED. If our colleagues can reach an agreement in a short period, we will try to bring the issue to the Council of Ministers. The establishment of such an umbrella organization will provide opportunities to develop the vision of Turkish tourism, create resources for the promotion of our country, and enable cooperation at higher levels in other areas. Our goal is to ensure the enactment of this law within the legislative efforts of the period before the elections."
TÜROFED Chairman Ahmet Barut expressed his delight at the participation of the Minister of Culture and Tourism Ertuğrul Günay and ministry officials in the working dinner held after TÜROFED's regular board meeting, emphasizing that the meeting was extremely effective and successful. Ahmet Barut stated that TÜROFED organizes such events periodically, saying, "Because we are not just an organization that voices problems. At this meeting, we shared current issues in tourism with our minister and other officials, and this meeting was very beneficial before the season. We discussed topics such as the negative consequences of air traffic disruptions due to the volcanic eruption in Europe, efforts to accelerate the unification of the Turkish tourism sector under a single roof, and some issues in our regions, with our minister and ministry officials." He emphasized that these meetings aim to create an environment where expectations are clearly expressed reciprocally, and to contribute to the future of Turkish tourism by fostering information sharing and generating ideas. Ahmet Barut added, "Regarding the draft law that includes the sectoral umbrella structure, both the sector and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism have reached a common ground. We now expect this to be implemented during this legislative period, and we believe that the conditions are suitable for this."
On the other hand, during the meeting, Minister Ertuğrul Günay presented copies of the publication "Turkish Ballet in its 60th Year" to the members of the TÜROFED board of directors and signed them.