The KOP Administration organized the 'KOP Region Steam Train Tourism Workshop' in order to develop the tourism potential of the KOP Region, which consists of 8 provinces, to protect the historical railway heritage and to transform the region into an important tourism destination of Turkey. It is aimed to strengthen the tourism infrastructure of the region with the workshop where many themes from accommodation to gastronomy, from youth employment to culture and art activities were discussed.
Konya Plain Project (KOP) Regional Development Administration, affiliated to the Ministry of Industry and Technology; KOP Tourism Model is formed in order to contribute to the simultaneous and multi-sectoral development of Aksaray, Karaman, Kırıkkale, Kırşehir, Nevşehir, Niğde and Yozgat, which are located within its service area. Ministry of Industry and Technology, Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Presidency Strategy and Budget Presidency experts, Konya Metropolitan Municipality, Selçuk University, Konya Technical University, Necmettin Erbakan University Faculty of Tourism faculty members, TCDD General Directorate and TCDD Taşımacılık A.Ş. . In the workshop, attended by TURSAB, industry and non-governmental organizations agencies and business representatives operating in the field of tourism, as well as experts from TURSAB, many topics were discussed, from youth employment to its contribution to the domestic industry, from the promotion of tourism-based accommodation to its effects on regional gastronomy.
After the presentations made by the KOP Administration and on behalf of the Necmettin Erbakan University Faculty of Tourism, expert faculty members from Selçuk, Konya Technical and Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli Universities, public and private sector stakeholders, 'Accommodation', 'Gastronomy', 'Routes and Travel Points', 'Maintenance-Repair-Infrastructure and Superstructure for Train', 'Railway Management and Education', 'Marketing, Promotion-Media-Souvenirs and Promotion', 'In-Train Activity-Culture-Art and Workshop'. provided comments and suggestions.
“It Will Be Among the Firsts of Turkey”
Speaking at the evaluation session held in the afternoon, Murat Karakoyunlu, Deputy Chairman of the KOP Administration; Stating that the steam trains, which lost their functionality in line with the technological developments, continued to be in our lives with folk songs and movies over time; “Steam trains have never been erased from our memories. These works, which can be the subject of every era and resist time; We are deeply excited that a step has been taken to reuse it, first in museums and now in tourism. Steam Trains, which include accommodation, overnight stay, nutrition and entertainment, which are among the most important elements of tourism, will be the first project of not only our region but also our country when they start to work actively in the tourism sector. It will make us happy that historical steam trains can come out of the technological trains. Realization of steam train tours; It will contribute to the fact that the tourism centers in the provinces in our region, where the railway passes directly or indirectly, are related to each other and to the provision of a destination management in these centers.
“KOP Region is the Heart of Turkey”
President Karakoyunlu mentioned that the KOP Region is an important center with its unique history, culture, cuisine and natural beauties; “We can state that the Konya plain is not just about agriculture and animal husbandry, with the support of approximately 50 million TL we have given to projects in the Culture and Tourism sectors. Our region has the potential to host different types of tourism such as faith, culture, thermal, mountaineering, plateau, silk road, gastronomy, cave, eco tourism and winter sports tourism. In fact, we can say that tourism is not just about sea, sand and sun, but today, the demand for culture, belief, gastronomy and eco tourism activities has made the region a center of attraction. At the same time, with its geographical location, it is almost at the heart of our country and is the center of transit passes. It is a very important advantage for visitors traveling from east to west, from north to south to stop by this region, or even not to stop by and stay there, and thus to ensure tourism density. Based on these advantages, our Presidency decided to deal with the tourism attractions in our region within a sustainable plan and decided to bring Steam Train Tourism to the region as a new tourism phase. Many European countries, especially the UK, and countries such as the USA, Canada, Russia organize nostalgic train tours and actively use steam trains in train tourism. Trains are now seen as an important tool that contributes to railway tourism rather than serving only as freight transport. In this workshop, we want to get a share from the Steam Train Tourism sector cake and to use steam trains more actively with a focus on tourism in the KOP Region, which includes different types of tourism.”
After the speeches, meaningful gifts consisting of rail sections used in Historical Hejaz Railways were presented to the participants.
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