Mehmet Dahaoğlu, Vice President of the Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation and the Alanya Tourism Operators Association, stated, "We participated in the Barcelona fair in order to attract tourists from different markets to Alanya."
At IBTM World Barcelona, representatives from over 3,000 destinations, high-capacity suppliers, and nearly 20,000 industry professionals from over 100 countries worldwide came together. Türkiye had a presence at the fair with a 149 square meter stand. 20 different destinations and organizations from Türkiye, along with 32 industry representatives, conducted intensive work.
'EXCEPTIONAL ATTENDANCE.'
For the first time this year, Alanya participated in the fair, which focused on in-person meetings. Mehmet Dahaoğlu, Vice President of ALTAV and ALTİD, shared his observations based on the contacts made during the fair, which took place between November 29 and December 1, 2022. He stated that the first day of the fair, which was open to professionals, saw intense meetings. Dahaoğlu emphasized that, similar to the London fair, one-on-one meetings were held, and that there were a large number of tour operators and country representatives. He said that the Alanya stand held meetings throughout the day.
'PRELIMINARY MEETING HELD ON 'SISTER CITY' INITIATIVE'
Dahaoğlu stated that they held a meeting with the Turkish Republic's Honorary Consul in Barcelona, Selen Evcit, at the Alanya stand. "Ms. Evcit had previously visited Alanya years ago and fell in love with the city. We invited her to Alanya and presented her with a set of Alanya souvenir coffee cups. We reached an agreement to facilitate discussions between the mayors regarding the establishment of sister city relationships. Increasing the number of our sister cities strengthens our international relations, while also highlighting that Alanya is a city of the world."
Dahaoğlu stated that there was significant participation from İstanbul and İzmir. "Countries, cities, and districts are competing on every platform to get a share of the tourism market. We also took our place at the fair to ensure a flow of tourists from different markets to Alanya. The Alanya stand stood out as one of the most vibrant stands on the Turkish promotion island, both in terms of promotional activities and the number of visitors."
“Turkish Airlines is operating 70 flights per week.”
Dahaoğlu, stating that Mapa Tours is the largest tour operator in the country, said, "In our meeting with Turkish Airlines (THY) officials, we received information that there are 70 flights per week from cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia, and Malaga to Turkey. In order to gain a greater share of the tourism activity in this country of 48 million people, we will increase our efforts."