Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu met with Alanya industry representatives at the Tourism, Construction, and Agriculture Sectors Evaluation and Consultation Meeting held at Eftalia Otel, hosted by Alanya District Governor Dr. Hasan Tanrıseven. Speaking at the meeting, Minister Çavuşoğlu stated that EU negotiations have begun and chapters have been opened. Noting that they had promised to build a velodrome for cycling sports and sports tourism in Alanya, Çavuşoğlu recorded that he had met with Minister of Youth and Sports Akif Çağatay Kılıç regarding this matter. In addition, Minister Çavuşoğlu expressed that important steps have been taken for the sport of golf and that they would bring this sport to Alanya. Minister Çavuşoğlu said, “In previous meetings, the President of Alanya Association of Tourism Professionals (ALTİD) Mr. Burhan Sili and the President of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB) Alanya Regional Executive Board (BYK) Mr. Suat Çavuşoğlu had conveyed that we need to lift visas for certain European countries. We have also addressed this issue and, together with countries that are part of Schengen but are not EU members, we will lift visas for EU countries as conditions are met.”
“WE CAN ONLY OVERCOME THIS CRISIS WITH STATE SUPPORT”
ALTİD President and Turkish Hotelier Federation (TÜROFED) Board Member Burhan Sili also took the podium and stated: “Our state must act swiftly to restructure the perception of security, especially regarding European countries. We are doing our utmost in terms of advertising and promotion. We are hosting members of the press from abroad in our region. In the meetings we hold at fairs, European tour operator representatives exhibit an approach indicating that they have a need for Turkey. This is a positive signal for us. Besides this, we submit files to our Honorable Minister at every opportunity regarding issues such as Social Security Institution (SGK) support and Special Consumption Tax (ÖTV) reductions, long-term and low-interest state loans, the halting of accommodation facility investments, and exporters benefiting from the incentives they utilize. We can only overcome this crisis with state support. I would like to thank Mr. Çavuşoğlu, the patron of Alanya, for his support.”
At the meeting, representatives of chambers of commerce, industry, and tradesmen, as well as tourism associations, explained their problems and presented files containing solution proposals to Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu.