The Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation (ALTAV) Annual Ordinary Financial General Assembly was held with the participation of members and guests. The 2015 budget was determined as 750 thousand TL and the 2016 estimated budget as 850 thousand TL. At the same time, ALTAV President Adem Murat Yücel, who is also the Mayor of Alanya, could not attend the Financial General Assembly due to Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu's Alanya program. ALTAV Vice President Mehmet Dahaoğlu stated in the opening speech of the program, “Alongside the institutions that have contributed within the umbrella framework we established in November 2015, we expect support from all domestic and foreign organizations that benefit from the tourism pie.”
“WE ARE INVITING ALL ENTERPRISES”
Stating that they have taken action to receive the support of all institutions, Dahaoğlu said, “As board members, we have reached out to some local and national businesses operating in Alanya to explain what we have done and to present our projects. Some contributed. Some offered advice. Some did not even respond to our meeting requests. Some listened but showed no interest. We extend our thanks to the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, Alanya Municipality, Alanya Tourist Operators Association (ALTİD), Alanya Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ALTSO), Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB) Alanya Regional Executive Board (BYK), Alanya Drivers Chamber, Alanya Pensioners Chamber, Alanya Industrialists and Businessmen Association (ALSİAD), BİM Markets, 82 Salı Pazarı, and Star Turizm Ticaret A.Ş., as well as to all those who contributed more or less during this process, and additionally to Elit Turizm, Mini Mutfak, Dim Çayı Göl Piknik, Dim Çayı Cennet Vadisi, Konaktepe Restoran, Dim Mağara İşletmesi, Ulu Sky Paraşüt, Gülbahçe Teknecilik, and all our hotels that provided accommodation support and did not withhold their material and moral support during our press hosting, for their contributions. We also invite all businesses operating in our city to contribute to the promotion.”
“WE MUST JOIN FORCES”
Burhan Sili, President of the Alanya Tourist Operators Association (ALTİD) and Board Member of the Turkish Hotel Association (TÜROFED), stated, “Since 2014, we have experienced events that continued and felt much harsher in 2016, putting Alanya tourism in a difficult position. Following this process, the activities of ALTAV gained much more importance. ALTAV's work has been of great significance in terms of Alanya being recognized, not losing its image, and its name not being erased. Many individuals and institutions provided support, but moral support is as essential as financial support. As the people of Alanya, we especially need to act together in a coordinated manner. When we consider the situation for 2017, it may be a notch better compared to 2016, but we need to act properly for another 3-4 years for a full recovery. As ALTİD, we are one of the institutions providing the largest financial support. If all institutions could do this, we could reach much better points. ALTAV is one of the most intensive working institutions in Turkey in the field of tourism promotion. In addition to the promotion of 25 international fairs, many activities such as media and clip studies are being carried out.”
“WE HAVE DONE PROJECTS WORTH MILLIONS”
Taking the floor again following the activity report, Dahaoğlu said, “When a general total is made, ALTAV's budget is around 850 thousand TL. However, alongside this, there are works based on bilateral relations that ALTAV carries out without spending money, which have a material value amounting to millions. The budget should not be seen as only 850 thousand TL. For example, by utilizing our bilateral relations, we hosted 220 members of the press in Alanya within the year 2016 alone.”
“WE WORKED FOR GAZİPAŞA AIRPORT”
ALTAV Secretary General Elvan Güneş stated, “The target number of fairs for the 2016-2017 international fair season is 28. We are also conducting significant work through social media channels. We have expanded the volume of our studies aimed at the domestic market. We have remained in constant contact with airlines and provided continuous information regarding Gazipaşa-Alanya Airport (GZP). We have explained its advantages on every platform. We organized festivals for resident foreigners or contributed to events being held.
“WE CANCELLED THE PROJECT”
“Aside from all these and our similar efforts, there were projects we could not implement due to budget insufficiency. For example, we wanted to bring many construction and real estate companies together under one roof through the ALTAV channel and planned to carry out large-scale promotional activities, but despite spending long hours of labor, we could not ensure sufficient participation and had to cancel our project,” he said.