Mehmet Dahaoğlu, Vice President of the Alanya Tourist Operators Association (ALTİD) and Board Member of the Alanya Promotion Foundation (ALTAV), shared his contacts and observations made at the 21st tourism fair UITT, held between March 25-27. Reporting from Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, Dahaoğlu noted the following:
“450 SQUARE METERS OF STAND FROM THE MINISTRY”
Although it appears busy this year, the exhibition area has actually shrunk significantly compared to previous years. Our Ministry, however, continues to impress with a 450-square-meter stand. Our Alanya stand, starting with information and promotional materials, is once again attracting a great deal of interest, as it has in other fairs.
“13 PERCENT DECLINE IN 2014”
In our meeting with Tourism Counselor Berat Yıldız, we learned that a serious devaluation has occurred between last year and this year; while 1 USD was at the level of 8 hryvnia last year, 1 USD is currently 25 hryvnia, and this situation is negatively affecting tourism. Yıldız stated that the number of Ukrainians coming to Türkiye decreased by 13 percent to the level of 650 thousand in 2014, and that they have been working as a Ministry to close 2015 with the minimum possible loss. Stating that the Ukrainian tourist prefers Türkiye because the Crimea alternative is no longer available to them, Yıldız emphasized that hotels should prioritize trade fairs in this country of 45 million people and that this economy will recover sooner or later.
“THERE IS A DECLINE IN 2015”
In our meeting with TUI General Manager Oğuz Ergün, he stated that they transported 55 thousand people to Türkiye in 2014, and that they are striving to minimize the decline by aiming to close 2015 with 45 thousand people.
“EVERYONE BE CAREFUL”
Anex Tour General Manager Vural Karasu stated that a contraction in the market occurred last year due to the war, with numbers declining to 95 thousand, but they aim to reach a figure above these numbers in 2015. Stating that they are the only operator with a single aircraft in Ukraine with a count of 16 planes, Karasu emphasized that 40 percent of their passengers prefer the Alanya region. Additionally, Karasu noted that Ukraine is in the midst of the largest crisis experienced since 1998 and stated that everyone needs to be careful.
“UKRAINE IS NOT BEING GIVEN IMPORTANCE”
Furthermore, officials from Join-Up, a new entrant to the market this year, and Peninsula Turizm, which handles its incoming operations, stated that despite the crisis in Ukraine, their flights will commence starting from April and they plan for 35 thousand passengers for the year 2015. It did not go unnoticed that Pegas Tour, which participated in the fair with a large stand in previous years, is not participating this year. The fact that many hoteliers from Alanya were not present at the fair, and only Azura, Eftalia, and Ütopya hotels were found, indicated that the necessary importance is not being given to this market.