Demand for charter flights in Serbia.

The second day of the Belgrade Tourism Fair saw a good level of activity. Mehmet Dahaoğlu, Vice President of the Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation (ALTAV) and the Alanya Tourism Operators Association (ALTİD), which represent Alanya at the fair, provided detailed information about the meetings held today.

Dahaoğlu stated, "We met with Mr. Enver Babat, the owner and director of the Big Blue company, which operates in the Serbian market. He shared some positive news, but also mentioned some challenges. He stated that sales, as of 2022, are 22% higher than the figures from 2019, and that there is high demand. He noted that the number of visitors decreased from 280,000 in 2019 to 238,000 in 2021 due to the pandemic, but that sales have increased again this year, and that the market has potential for growth. However, he mentioned difficulties with air travel, stating that starting in May, 34 flights per week will be flying from Serbia to Turkey, and that no company other than Air Serbia is flying to Turkey. He also stated that the Serbian Civil Aviation Authority has not granted permission for Turkish charter flights, and that they are expecting assistance from our Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, regarding this issue. He mentioned that they have been wanting to fly to Gazipaşa Alanya Airport (GZP) for years, but this has not been possible due to the lack of permission from the Serbian Civil Aviation Authority. He stated that if they could obtain the necessary flight permits, they could bring 500,000 tourists from this market, and that the package prices for tourists are higher than in many European countries, indicating that the market could generate significant profits."

“The process of using identification for entry is almost here.”

"Furthermore, as recently shared on the Twitter account of our Ambassador to Serbia, Mr. Hami Aksoy, negotiations are nearing completion to allow flights between Serbia and Turkey using only identity cards. We spoke with Mr. Mert Demiral, our Cultural and Tourism Attaché in Belgrade. During our conversation, he stated that Turkish advertisements have been steadily increasing on Serbian media outlets, including RTS, Pink TV, PRVA TV, and FOX TV, since the beginning of the pandemic, and that our advertisements are also being featured on the top 5 online news websites in Serbia. He also mentioned that promotional activities continue on social media, that they are working with tour operators, and that in 2021, in collaboration with the Türkiye Turizm Tanıtım ve Geliştirme Ajansı (TGA), 135 journalists and influencers were hosted in Turkey, generating a total of 40 million interactions from Serbia and surrounding countries," he said. Mehmet Dahaoğlu also invited the beauty of Serbia to Alanya.