Burhan Sili, Member of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Hotel Association (TÜROFED) and President of the Alanya Tourist Operators Association (ALTİD), and Mehmet Dahaoğlu, Vice President and Member of the Board of Directors of the Alanya Promotion Foundation (ALTAV), who participated in the Warsaw Tourism Fair held in Poland, monitored the pulse of this market. Evaluating their meetings at the fair, Sili and Dahaoğlu stated the following:
“ALANYA IS THE MOST IMPORTANT DESTINATION”
Important meetings were held with the former President of the Council of Higher Education (YÖK), Ambassador Prof. Dr. Yusuf Ziya Özcan, the Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Nermin Kırım, and Tourism Attaché Kasım Sonkaya. We received information that 60 percent of Poles going on vacation come to Alanya, that Alanya is very much loved in Poland, and that it is the most popular destination. In his statement, Sonkaya said that Alanya is promoted very well in Poland every year, stating, “For this reason, a large part of the Polish people prefers Alanya. In the winter months, however, importance is placed on the winter tourism carried out in the Erzurum region.”
“ALANYA-GAZİPAŞA AIRPORT INCLUDED IN PLANNING”
In the past, there were serious difficulties in the market due to the bankruptcy of GTI and Triada. As of this year, a renewed movement has begun. In our meetings with Cem Tapan, General Manager of Wezyr-Coral Travel, one of Poland's largest agencies, and Product Manager Çağdaş Arda, they stated that they brought 104 thousand vacationers to Alanya in 2014 and that their target for the 2015 season is to transport at least 125 thousand vacationers to Alanya. They expressed that they will start operations with 6 aircraft as of 15.04.2015 and will increase up to 21 aircraft per week, that they have extended the season until the second week of November, and that they have included Alanya-Gazipaşa Airport in their future plans. They also stated that existing November sales have increased by 50 percent compared to the previous year.
“THE AIRPORT PROVIDES GREAT CONVENIENCE”
Efe Türkel, one of the managers of Thomas Cook Neckermann, stated that while their figures were not very high, there was a significant increase in percentage terms, and that their 2015 targets were 20,000 guests and above; he also noted that Alanya-Gazipaşa Airport is an important potential that provides great conveniences and stated that this airport is in their plans.
“TARGET: MORE PASSENGERS”
Prima Holidays Company Founder Maher Lili stated that they attach great importance to Alanya, that they have doubled their aircraft capacity by taking risks compared to 2014, and that they have purchased guaranteed rooms in many hotels; in this regard, he expressed his desire to carry out different organizations together with ALTAV and ALTİD in Alanya. He reported that while it is difficult to compete with large tour operators, when small tour operators are supported, everyone takes this risk and works to bring more passengers to Alanya.
“50,000 PEOPLE ARE EXPECTED TO ATTEND”
Itaka, Sun-Fun Holidays, Rainbow, Exim, and TUI are the other tour operators in this market. In 2014, 490 thousand passengers arrived in Türkiye. While 280 thousand of them preferred the Antalya region, 60 percent of this figure came to Alanya. Suat Çavuşoğlu, President of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB) Alanya Regional Executive Board (BYK), and Süha Özçakıl were also among the names participating in the fair from Alanya. Alanya hotels named Azura Deluxe, Anjeliq, Qattro, Water Planet, White City, Kahya, Saphir, and Mesut also took part in the fair. 50 thousand people are expected to attend the fair, which will last for a total of four days.