The International Utazas Tourism Fair was held in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. Elvan Güneş, a member of the Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation (ALTAV) Board of Directors and the General Secretary of the Alanya Tourism Operators Association (ALTİD), represented Alanya at the fair. Güneş stated that they conducted promotional activities with the Alanya stand, which was established under the umbrella of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey, and that there was a significant increase in the Hungarian market, as in other markets. She shared her observations and impressions as follows: At the fair, which hosted 244 participants from 23 countries, the Turkish stand, under the patronage of Hilal Demiral, Advisor to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's Promotion General Directorate, was set up in an area of 240 square meters. 'DE-HA'S TARGET: 28,000' According to information obtained from Tolga Deniz Sarıyüce, General Manager of Sun&Fun Holidays, the operator of De-Ha Tourism, which conducts a significant portion of its operations in Turkey, the market declined to 6,500 passengers in 2016, but reached 18,500 in 2017, with 17,500 to Antalya and 1,000 to Dalaman. The plans for 2018 are to reach 28,000. They will fly to Antalya with 14 flights per week between May 13 and November 4. At the fair, they continued their promotional activities with a large stand and 50 participating hotels. 'THEY WILL CONTRIBUTE TO PROMOTION WITH A CONCERT' Ethem Okudur, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Akay Travel, which operates with Anubis Travel, stated that they valued this market due to its efficiency, that they were conducting a large-scale promotional campaign this year with a large stand and 41 participating hotels, and that the reservations received so far were encouraging. They are targeting 14,000 passengers with Pegasus flights four times a week between May 19 and October 18. Additionally, they learned that due to the 100th anniversary of the independence of the Baltic States (Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia) this year, they are planning three concerts with three famous artists in Antalya between May 21 and 28. They informed us that Alanya could host one of the concerts, and that they would discuss the details of the third concert after the fair. Ethem Okudur, the Honorary Consul of Estonia for the region from Mugla to Adana, is the Honorary Consul of Lithuania in Antalya. Alanya is a popular destination in the Baltic countries, and holding such an event in Alanya would provide significant promotional benefits. 'THEY WILL FLY 8 AIRCRAFTS DURING THE HIGH SEASON' In our meeting with Peter Kalman and Szilvia Bardos, Marketing Managers of Neckermann, we learned that their passenger target for this year is 10,000, and that the early reservation sales so far are close to 4,000. They will start their operations with 2 flights to Antalya Airport in May and will increase to 8 flights during the high season. 'WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO FLY TO GZP IN 2019' Orex-Anex Travel, which is new to the market and started operating in January, selling 1,000 early reservations in 35 days, is also present in the Hungarian market. In our meeting with Murat Kızılsaç, General Manager of Orex Travel, we learned that sales have just started but are encouraging, and that they will fly with Corendon Airlines between May 19 and October 13. When asked, "Would you consider flying to Gazipaşa Alanya Airport (GZP)," he said that they are starting a new venture this year and that they could consider it for 2019, and that they would have the necessary discussions for that. 'FOREIGN PRESS WILL WRITE ABOUT ALANYA' We will host Szilvia Szeszler, the Magazine Editor of Az'utazo Magazine, a 20-year-old tourism magazine that is published six times a year and also followed in Romania and Slovakia, to write about the cultural and natural life of Alanya. Alanya has previously appeared on the cover of this magazine. We will also host Mezei Eva, a tourism writer in 10 different magazines, in Alanya. 'ALANYA WAS SEEN IN A FAMOUS RESTAURANT' In addition, we gave interviews to TV channels and tried to appear in the press with our newly produced promotional CDs. We ensured that Alanya promotional brochures were placed on every table in Titiz Restaurant, one of Budapest's best restaurants, and that Alanya promotional videos were shown on the screens on both floors of the restaurant. 'WE MADE A DIFFERENCE AS ALTAV' In this year's Hungary Utazas Tourism Fair, Turkey was at the forefront in terms of promotion and sales. In addition, agencies with over 100 hotels conducted a significant promotional campaign and are satisfied with the sales. We, as ALTAV, promoted our region in the most efficient way and once again made a difference at the Ministry stand.