The newly appointed District Governor of Alanya, Mustafa Harputlu, Alanya Mayor and simultaneously President of the Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation (ALTAV) Adem Murat Yücel, Member of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Hotel Association (TÜROFED) and President of the Alanya Tourist Operators Association (ALTİD) Burhan Sili, Skal Alanya Period President Mehmet Nedanlı, and agency representatives met for breakfast at Filika Restaurant located on Cleopatra Beach. During the meeting, the current state of tourism, tourism security and the perception of Türkiye abroad, the latest reservation statuses in the countries from which we receive tourists, and the cable car project under construction in Alanya were discussed.
WHO SAID WHAT?
District Governor Mustafa Harputlu: It is good to learn about the current state of Alanya tourism from its true owners. In our meetings and conversations with you, I have seen that the issue of security has come to the forefront. I believe that we will overcome everything together with our experienced tourism professionals and employees in Alanya. Alanya has many advantages compared to other regions. Those who come and see Alanya, and those who feel the warmth here, want to come back again despite everything.
“RUSES ARE LOOKING FOR SERVICE QUALITY IN OUR COUNTRY”
Mayor Adem Murat Yücel: Security is not just our problem; it emerges before us as a global issue. Alanya is a city where civilizations live together in peace. We take pride in this characteristic. The increases from Scandinavian countries, which were earned with difficulty over many years at rates of 3, 4, and 5 percent, fell by almost 50-60 percent within 2016. Recovering from this situation will be difficult for a certain period. Russians, who could not come to our country in 2016 due to political reasons and had to travel to other countries, say that they could not see the quality of service, Turkish hospitality, and warmth in any other country.
“APRON AND PARKING LOT TO BE EXPANDED IN GAZİPAŞA”
Gazipaşa-Alanya Airport has begun to enter the top 10 in our country in terms of flight activity. Tour operators, agency representatives, and guests have begun to understand the importance of this airport in terms of financial and time savings. In the meeting we held with TAV officials, they stated that they would carry out apron and parking lot expansion works over time according to demand.
“INNER CASTLE WILL BE VISITED WITH GOLF CARTS”
Our cable car works are continuing. The cable car will be operational on May 1st. Tour buses will not enter Kaleiçi. Tourists will wander around İçkale with golf carts.
“ANTALYA COULD REACH 8 MILLION”
ALTİD President Burhan Sili: We are in a period where people are losing their lives, and we are all very saddened. I believe that we will gradually return to our old days within 2-3 years. We must not lose our hope. I predict that the number of guests coming to our country will also exceed last year's figures. Last year, we hosted 6 million 400 thousand guests specifically in Antalya. If everything goes well, we can reach 8 million this year. The important thing is that flights are not canceled.
“WE ACHIEVE BETTER RESULTS HAND IN HAND”
Skal Alanya President Mehmet Nedanlı: I value on-site promotion. Despite everything, foreigners who have ties with the local people living in Alanya continue to come here. As long as we satisfy our foreign guests coming to our Alanya, we will have carried out the most important promotion work. I especially believe that we will achieve better results by our law enforcement forces working hand in hand with our tourism professionals and our people.
“REACHING 2015 FIGURES IS DIFFICULT”
Levent Danışman (Der Touristik): We cater to the German, Scandinavian, and Central European markets. There has been a recovery in the German market over the last two weeks. Central Europe has had a good start. The Scandinavian market, which is very important for Alanya and Alanya's tradesmen, will start significantly in the negative. Generally speaking, it is better compared to the poorly performing 2016, but reaching the 2015 figures will not be easy.
“BEACH BUFFETS SHOULD REMAIN WITH ALTİD”
Cengiz Topçu (Egzotik Tourism): The security and inspection of our beaches are very important. There have been some rumors circulating recently. We demand that the inspection of the buffets located on the beaches remains with ALTİD, which has always maintained a corporate operation.
“WE HAVE INCREASED SEATING CAPACITY”
Hüseyin Darı (Peninsula Tourism): We cater to many markets, from Bulgaria to Western Europe. While all markets were in decline last year, we have similar expectations for Ukraine, which was in the positive. Reservations from the Netherlands and Germany are progressing calmly. We are observing an increase in Slovakia and Romania compared to 2016. We had lost significant ground in these two markets last year. We have increased seat capacity in Albania, Macedonia, and Kosovo. We aim to exceed 2015 figures in these markets. Serbia and the Czech Republic are among our worst markets this year.
“ALANYA SERIES AFFECTS RESERVATIONS”
Terhi Alanya (Detur): Our first flight from the Scandinavia market arrives today. This is good news for our region, but we do not have high expectations from the Scandinavia market this year. It is a very difficult market. The TV series we filmed in Alanya in the autumn will be broadcast on Finland Fox TV. I believe the demand for this series will affect requests in a positive direction.
“THE NORWEGIAN MARKET IS THE WORST IN THE LAST 10 YEARS”
Tamer Koç (Tivrona): There was a decline of up to 80 percent in our main market, the Czech Republic. There will be some movement next year, even if it is slight. Negative news regarding our country shown on TVs gains great resonance and affects reservations negatively. Under normal circumstances, we used to bring around 90 sports groups in the months of February and March, but with recent developments, we lost almost all of these groups in 2016. Within the last 10 years, we experienced our worst year, especially in the Norwegian market. We expect a development, albeit slow, until 2018-2019.
“IF EMPLOYMENT DOES NOT ARISE, SECURITY PROBLEMS BEGIN”
Şükrü Bingöl (Kilit Global): We have a 50 percent loss compared to last year. The German market is not going very well. I am certain that our guests are currently on standby. I think Alanya will experience some relief with the opening of the Russian market. I believe that some of the hotels located specifically in the eastern region of Alanya will not open. The inability to create sufficient employment also gives rise to security concerns, and I would like to issue a warning on this matter.
“SCANDINAVIAN MARKET IS IN TROUBLE”
Adnan Erdemir (Tan Tur-TUI): Germany, which is one of our largest markets, is also the market we are most hopeful about for the year 2017. In the last 10 days, we have caught up with last year's figures. As long as there are no issues regarding security, I hope that reservations will continue to increase. The experiences we have had point to this. Even if there are not very serious increases in the Netherlands, Poland, and Belgium markets, there is movement. Of course, we are making our evaluations compared to 2016, not 2015. There is a problem in the Scandinavian market, which is one of the markets that feeds Alanya the most. As long as security-related problems are eliminated, sales will always move upwards. The expectation in the Russian market is above the 2015 figures.
“THE RUBLE-DOLLAR PARITY IS AFFECTING US”
Efe Ünal (Kilit Global Rus-Balkan-Baltık): We cannot get even guides from Serbia, let alone guests. The expectation in the Russian market is very high, but the intensity in sales is not in the same direction. One of the two reasons for this is security, and the other is the inability to establish balance in the ruble-dollar parity in Russia.
“OUR PERCEPTION IN EUROPE IS BAD”
Serkan Karakaya (Astral Tourism): There is a continuous decline in the Scandinavian markets. This year will not be much different from last year. Our people and our tourism professionals are doing their best for our guests, but our country's image and perception in Europe are negating all the beauties. I hope everything goes well and we experience a recovery during the season.
“CHANGE MUST START FROM ALANYA”
Hüseyin Onat Cihanoğlu (Anex Tour): As Anex Tour Germany, I hope we will be successful for our country. Alanya's place in Turkish tourism is very important. The trio of sea, sun, and sand was our indispensable element. Now, security has also entered the equation. We all see together that reservations increase during periods when we do not experience security issues. I hope the change starts from Alanya and this season.
“THE FORMULA FOR SUCCESS: GAZİPAŞA-ALANYA AIRPORT”
Soner Erdoğan (LTS Tourism): About three weeks ago, we had a merger with a large Spanish company. We have started receiving reservations from South American countries. We closed last year with a 3 percent increase. Our target for this year is even higher, but I believe that success will increase with the more effective use of Gazipaşa-Alanya Airport. Increasing the airport's recognition will increase our advantage compared to other regions in Antalya. Intensive work should be carried out on this matter.
“OUR 2016 LOSS IS 30 PERCENT”
Levent Candan (Corendon): Our company, which has 14 aircraft, has ongoing works for Gazipaşa-Alanya Airport. I hope the new season will be more positive. We had a loss of 30 percent in 2016.
“THERE IS A 10 PERCENT INCREASE IN THE BALKAN MARKET”
Yüksel Çiçek (Mina Tourism): Turkey’s major problem is security. When this problem is solved, everything will be solved. There is an increase in the Baltic markets we worked in in 2016. Sales in Estonia and Latvia are good. There is a 10 percent increase in the Balkan market. The UK market is progressing at the same rate as last year. In general terms, we cannot catch up to 2015, but our sales will be better than 2016.
“SALES ARE TRENDING LOW”
Ufuk Bozkurt (Summer Tour): We organize flights from Scandinavian countries to Gazipaşa-Alanya Airport at a rate of 70 percent. We are continuing this planning for 2017 as well, but sales are progressing at a low rate.