Minister Ersoy stated that the visitor and reservation figures are going well in the new year, which they entered with the target of 60 million visitors and 60 billion dollars of income in tourism, and said, "Hopefully, if we continue this way, we hope to achieve our 2024 targets comfortably." said.
Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Ersoy visited Kuşadası and Didim districts of Aydın and met with representatives of the tourism sector.
Speaking at a meeting held at a hotel in Kuşadası, Minister Ersoy stated that Turkey, which broke records in tourism in 2019, was the country that emerged the fastest from the global coronavirus epidemic process, and that they closed 2023 with a record despite the negativities.
Stating that they have set very serious targets until 2028 and that they will achieve these targets by breaking records every year, Ersoy said, “We started the year with the target of 60 million visitors and 60 billion dollars in revenue. The first data also sounds good. There are significant increases in visitor numbers. Reservations are also going well. “Hopefully, if we continue like this, we hope to achieve our 2024 goals comfortably.” he said.
Emphasizing that Kuşadası and the Aegean are very important for them, Ersoy said that Kuşadası's tourism history goes back a long way and that it is one of the main centers of cruise tourism.
“We Are Increasing Excavation Budgets”
Minister Ersoy stated that they have extended the work period to 12 months in archaeological excavations where foreign excavation leaders work, and pointed out that ambitious targets have been set for the next 4 years with the "Legacy to the Future" project.
Stating that 10 percent of Turkey's archaeological wealth has been unearthed through excavations, Ersoy said:
“90 percent of it is actually still underground. If you cannot protect what you excavate, if you cannot restore it and create a superstructure, it would be more beneficial to keep it underground. You need to transfer resources accurately and regularly. You must first dig, then protect, then restore. If you take them one after another, then digging is beneficial. But these are our products that differentiate us from our competitors in tourism and enable us to become a point of attraction. You will see today in Aphrodisias that we have allocated very serious budgets. Let me give an example. In 2019, our excavation budget was 36,7 million lira. Last year, we increased this figure to 1,1 billion lira, including excavation and restoration. Our budget this year will be 6 billion lira. So we are increasing the budgets very seriously. “Our excavation leaders send us their projects and we are quickly implementing all the projects as of this year.”
“Local Governments Have Very Serious Duties”
Noting that archaeological richness is important within the scope of the goal of spreading tourism over 12 months, Ersoy stated that Kuşadası should be remembered with an 8-9 month season and that they will achieve this with cultural tourism.
Stating that local governments have serious responsibilities to achieve the targets in tourism and that it is important to complete infrastructure investments such as roads, waste water and drinking water, Ersoy noted that all stakeholders in the district should support these targets.
“Tourism Projects Should Not Be Evaluated From a Political Perspective”
Minister Ersoy, who held a meeting with tourism sector representatives hosted by Didim Chamber of Commerce after Kuşadası, stated that they are trying to enrich the product and tourist diversity in order to make tourism immune to crises.
Stating that they, as the Ministry, provide significant investments and support to the district, which has high tourism potential, Minister Ersoy also made evaluations about the Aegean Region.
Ersoy noted that the Aegean has the potential to attract twice as many foreign tourists as there are and that they have developed Aegean Tourism Centers projects to put this into use with correct planning, and stated that legal processes slow down the projects, and there may be pauses and impacts for 4-5 years.
Stating that tourism projects should not be evaluated from political perspectives, Ersoy said, “The right thing needs to be discussed and done. I hope that if we can all take the right steps from now on, we can accelerate these processes and bring Didim and other districts of Aydın to the place they deserve.” said.
“We Will Make Our Sector Immune to Crises”
Explaining that the Tourism Promotion and Development Agency has made promotions in 2019 countries after 200 and that they are the country that makes the most intensive and effective promotions in the world, Ersoy noted that the differentiation in the last 4 years is due to this.
Stating that the geopolitical environment of the country is prone to crises, Ersoy said, “What will we do then? If we know this reality, we will make our sector immune to crises. How will we do this in tourism? We will diversify products and guests. We ensure passenger diversity by promoting with the Tourism Development Agency. “We diversify our products by including other products such as archeology and gastronomy.” he said.
Pointing out that as the number of tourists increases, the importance of infrastructure investments in cities increases, Ersoy said, “Road supports should be provided by municipalities. But first of all, these investments need to be planned within a plan, that is, within the tourism master plan. Because we need to fulfill unlimited demand with limited resources. "These tourism master plans are for 30 years and 50 years." he said.
Stating that resources can be created for tourism investments with the right projects, Ersoy stated that the income obtained from the entrances to the ruins has increased by nearly 100 percent.