"All eyes are on Turkish Airlines."

Elvan Güneş, a member of the Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation Board of Directors, stated: "The executives of Big Blue, the largest tour operator in Serbia, are awaiting Turkish Airlines to plan flights from Belgrade to Gazipaşa Alanya Airport, with 5 flights per week to transport passengers to Alanya. Many officials from various companies are also eagerly awaiting positive news from Turkish Airlines."

Alanya was promoted at the 42nd International Belgrade Tourism Fair, held in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, where over 2 million people reside, from February 19th to 23rd. Elvan Güneş, a member of the Board of Directors of the Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation (ALTAV) and the Alanya Tourism Operators Association (ALTİD), represented Alanya at the fair. Under the umbrella of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, representatives from four tourism regions, including Alanya, three agencies, and Turkish Airlines (THY) carried out promotional activities for our country. Güneş, sharing her observations and providing an overall assessment of the fair, emphasized that the Ministry's stand was reduced from 305 square meters in 2018, to 150 in 2019, and to 120 square meters this year. Güneş continued her statement as follows:

'CONTINUING TO HOST SERBIAN CELEBRITIES'

More than 900 participants from 40 countries attended the fair. The Türkiye stand was one of the most vibrant booths at the fair. In partnership with Alanya and THY, we gave away a total of 3 Alanya vacations, including transportation, to 3 families over 3 days. Due to the absence of a Serbian Counselor, Senem Arslan, the Cultural Tourism Attaché at the Swiss Embassy, managed the Ministry's organization at the fair. Our Serbian Ambassador, Dr. Tanju Bilgiç, closely followed all developments throughout the fair, as he does every year. We exchanged ideas about the projects we will implement this year. In the coming days, we will continue to host Serbian celebrities in Alanya to further increase the momentum we have created in this market. We would like to express our special thanks to them for this.

“There is a Department of Turkology.”

Trade fair periods represent an important opportunity for us. At ALTAV, we are working with all our strength to implement projects that will contribute to our region in the best and most efficient way. Serbia is the engine of the Balkans. They love Turks and Turkey very much. In addition, Turkish TV series are very popular in this country. During the time of Atatürk, a Department of Turkish Studies was established in 1930. Therefore, you can often find people who speak Turkish. Furthermore, in this land where the Ottoman Empire ruled for 257 years, there are approximately 9,700 words in the Serbian language that are derived from Turkish. Due to our many commonalities, their perspective on our country is very warm.

282,000 people from Serbia visited our country in 2019.

According to the latest census in 2017, the population of Serbia is 7,121,000. Over 2 million people live in the capital, Belgrade. According to information I received from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 11,000 people visited our country in 2016, 146,000 in 2017, 225,000 in 2018, and 282,000 in 2019, representing a 25.3% increase. As you can see, this is a continuously growing market. As ALTAV, in previous years, the Serbian pop stars we hosted, the music videos we produced, the journalists, tourism magazine writers, and travel agent representatives we invited for product-focused events have become closely acquainted with Alanya. By leveraging the power of the media, our efforts have resulted in our region being visited by more and more Serbian guests.

"Hotel prices are reasonable, but there is no transportation available."

The presence of Turkish-origin tour operators and their holding the largest share in the country's package tour sales have become a significant advantage for our country. The region's leading agency, Big Blue, strengthened its position by acquiring the Kontiki tour operator in recent years. Big Blue, participating in the fair with a large and strong presence, decorated its stand with images of Turkey, making a significant promotional effort. During my interview with Enver Babat, a Member of the Board of Directors of Big Blue, a major agency in the region that sells package tours to 109 destinations with a significant market share, he stated that they reached 36,700 passengers in 2018, 47,000 in 2019, and planned for 57,000 passengers in 2020, noting a high demand and difficulties in securing flights. He also mentioned that their customer base consists of high-budget clients, that they work with the country's quality facilities, and that they aim to provide the same quality of transportation. He stated that they have made significant efforts to reach an agreement with Turkish Airlines (THY) but have not yet achieved a result. He added that 40% of their sales are to Alanya, and that if Turkish Airlines were to start charter flights to Gazipaşa Alanya Airport, they could fly to Alanya with 5 flights per week. Babat stated that hotel prices are at a reasonable level, and that the most important problem currently is transportation. He said that between May 13, 2020, and October 23, 2020, they will operate 4 daily flights to Antalya, 2 flights per week to Dalaman, 6 flights per week to Bodrum, 2 flights per week to İzmir, and 4 flights per week from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Antalya.

HOT SALES CONDUCTED AT THE FAIR

In our meeting with Zlatan Savkovic, Destination Manager at Fibula Travel, one of the region's important agencies, he stated that they have planned approximately 45,000 trips this year, that 14 hotel representatives participated in the fair, that they will continue their operations with 7 flights per week from May 28, 2020, to October 15, 2020, and that they made sales to 500 people during the 3-day fair period.

‘1A TRAVEL WILL TRANSPORT PASSENGERS WITH 6 AIRCRAFT PER WEEK.’

Mehmet Gündüz, a partner at 1A Travel, stated that they participated in this year's fair with 15 hotel representatives. He also mentioned that their sales plans for 2020 will focus primarily on the Antalya region, and they aim to bring 15% of incoming passengers to Alanya. Furthermore, he said that they will operate 6 flights per week to Antalya and that they have also increased their capacity for Bodrum this year.

"THE REAL ESTATE SECTOR ALSO WANTS CHARTER FLIGHTS."

Ana Tomaskovic, an official from Belvi Travel, stated that they participated in the fair this year with 6 hotel representatives, and that they were facing some challenges due to rising prices. She also mentioned that their plans for this year are on par with those of last year. Halil İbrahim Daye, a partner at StayProperty from Alanya, also participated in the fair with a booth. He said that they entered this market 3 years ago and that 30% of their sales come from Serbian customers. He noted that there is a high demand, but they are experiencing significant difficulties with transportation. They want to bring their customers with Turkish Airlines, but the fact that it involves a layover in Istanbul and long waiting times (8-12 hours) is proving challenging for both them and their customers. They are hoping for an announcement from Turkish Airlines regarding direct flights between Belgrade and Alanya.

“ALANYA FEATURED ON A SERBIAN TV CHANNEL.”

We gave an interview to Pink Studio B TV channel. The TV channel, which has 2.5 to 3 million viewers, featured a 5-minute segment about Alanya, showcasing our promotional video. The next day, some people came to our stand and said, "We saw you on TV last night." Ivana Dukcevic, whom we previously hosted in Alanya, visited our stand again, this time accompanied by Emira Azganovic, who is also the director of a tourism magazine. Emira Azganovic's magazine is visited by 100,000 people per month, publishes 5 magazines in 2 languages per year, and distributes a total of 5,000 copies of each issue for free. We will be hosting Emira Azganovic in Alanya during May and June to feature Alanya in her magazines.

'2020 WILL BE A PROFITABLE YEAR'

Serbians are a people who enjoy food, drink, and entertainment. Every year, 65% of the country's population goes on vacation. As ALTAV, we are working to increase our presence in both small and large alternative markets. We have had a very productive promotional period. Unless there is an extraordinary situation, and if sales continue at this rate, 2020 will be a very productive and profitable year.