"Tourism Agencies Sectors Meeting" was held in order to discover Sivas' innovations in the tourism sector and to ensure cooperation with companies operating in this field.
Sivas Governor Yılmaz Şimşek, Sivas Mayor Hilmi Bilgin, relevant institution managers, non-governmental organization representatives, hotel owners, participants from Sivas and all over our country participated in the program held at Yıldız Mountain Winter Sports Tourism Center, one of the important tourism centers of Sivas. Representatives of agencies providing tourism services attended.
The city square, which resembles an open-air city museum where Seljuk, Ottoman and Republican works are located, is home to historical artifacts, hot and cold Çermik thermal springs with healing waters, world-famous doctor fish, Yıldız Mountain Winter Sports Tourism Center, lakes, natural beauties, handicraft products, Studies under the leadership of Sivas Governorship are continuing to increase the tourism potential of Sivas, which awaits its guests with its museums, Kangal Dog, local registered delicacies and many tourism values.
Speaking in the program, Sivas Governor Yılmaz Şimşek reminded that the tourism sector, called the smokeless factory, is the main source of income for the economies of many countries.
Noting that some cities in our country continue to develop by taking the lion's share of this sector, Governor Şimşek said, “Today, we came together to discuss the innovations in the tourism sector in our city and to cooperate with you who operate in this field. With this meeting, we aim to exchange ideas with our developed and visionary tourism agencies, who closely follow the developments in the tourism sector, and to ensure that Sivas gets a larger share from the sector.” said.
Governor Şimşek stated that, as Sivas Governorship, they are constantly working and striving to increase the tourism potential of the province and reach wider audiences and said, “We evaluate the tourism potential of our city in a versatile way and carry out very special studies in the areas needed in this regard. Yesterday, we held a summit regarding health tourism in our province. Today, we are discussing the tourism potential of our city with you. For this reason, I consider it extremely important for our guests here today to share their experiences and to determine new projects and new goals on which we can work together. Sivas is a geography with an ancient past and heritage that has hosted many civilizations. There are traces of almost all civilizations settled in Anatolia here. This makes us very rich in terms of cultural tourism. Our guests visiting Sivas today can see that this rich past, historical and cultural heritage is alive. In particular, the historical Sivas square looks like an open-air museum and presents many works of art from three different civilizations. Buruciye Madrasah, Şifaiye Madrasah and Çifte Minareli Madrasah, Kale Mosque, and our Congress Museum, where the foundations of our Republic were laid, are located in this historical area.” he said.
Museum City Sivas
Stating that Sivas is a museum city, Governor Şimşek said, “With its 13 museums and 5 memorial houses, our visitors have the opportunity to get to know the culture of our city in a versatile way. Undoubtedly, hours or even days are not enough to describe the cultural heritage of Sivas. In terms of Cultural Heritage, of course, we need to make a separate note for the Divriği Grand Mosque and Hospital, which is the first work from our country to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. We have now come to an end in a comprehensive restoration work. "We will open our work to visitors around May-June." said.
The Most Modern Ski Resort of Our Country is in Sivas
Stating that Sivas is a city with important values in the field of winter sports and thermal tourism, Governor Şimşek said:
“Yıldız Mountain Winter Sports Tourism Center is one of the newest and most modern facilities in our country. Again, with our Hot Çermik Thermal Spring, we can offer our visitors a concept where thermal and ski tourism are offered together. When we look at it from the perspective of health tourism, Balıklı Thermal Spring in our Kangal district is the only treatment center for psoriasis in the world, with doctor fish in selenium-containing water at 36 degrees. It hosts many local and foreign visitors every year. Of course, our city stands out with its natural beauties as well as its historical, cultural and thermal riches. "Our Gökpınar Lake, which is the evil eye of Anatolia, our Hafik Lake, which has been declared a flying field for hot air balloons, our valleys, canyons, waterfalls and Sivas can offer us unique natural beauties with its wide geography."
Sivas with its Delicious Table
Governor Şimşek stated that Sivas is a city that can say that it is in gastronomy with its local flavors and rich cuisine and said, “It can offer delicious experiences to its visitors with its 21 registered products. So far, I have tried to talk superficially about the tourism potential of our city. One of the prerequisites for this potential to be transformed into a tourism value is undoubtedly transportation. Our city, which is a crossroads, has become one of the most accessible cities with the start of high-speed train services in addition to highway and air transportation. High Speed Train, one of the largest investments of the Republic period, has been used by more than 25 thousand passengers since its opening on April 2023, 710. "For an accessible city with high tourism potential, what needs to be done from now on is to create road maps in consultation with stakeholders and increase the share of our city from tourism." he said.
Governor Şimşek concluded his words as follows:
“We will continue our work without slowing down to ensure that Sivas is in the best places in every field in the new Turkish century. Today we are taking a step to initiate synergy in the field of tourism. By accepting our invitation, you show that you will share our excitement. I wholeheartedly believe that very valuable work for our city will come out of this friendly environment.”
Hilmi Bilgin: We Present a Solution-Oriented Approach
Sivas Mayor Hilmi Bilgin emphasized the use of Sivas' high-speed train potential and said, "We cannot solve the problem without involving those in the sector on what we need to do in terms of increasing promotion and tourism revenues. It opens public roads, speeds up bureaucracy and reveals a solution-oriented approach. "We can only increase our tourism potential through the private sector." said.
Following the speeches, representatives of the tourism agency took the floor and stated that Sivas has a significant potential and that they would work on this issue.
The meeting ended with a mutual exchange of ideas.