The Alanya stand attracted great attention from visitors at the Ferie For Alle Tourism Fair, which took place between February 23-25. Visitors had the opportunity to learn about Alanya’s magnificent beaches, historical castles, and natural beauties at the fair.

“HOT SALES BOOST THE ATTRACTION OF THE FAIR”

Sukru Cimrin, Vice President of the Alanya Touristic Hoteliers Association (ALTID), Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation (ALTAV) Board Member and Turkey Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) representative in Alanya, shared his evaluations of the fair:

“We participated in the Ferie For Alle Tourism Fair in Herning, Denmark from February 22 to 24, 2024 as ALTAV. Ferie For Alle, which was included in the fair calendar by TGA this year, is the largest consumer fair in the Scandinavian countries. Visitors from all over Denmark made holiday purchases at the stands of tour operators and agencies throughout the fair, starting from the first day and the first hours. The total number of visitors to the three-day fair was around 60 thousand. While in most tourism fairs, tour operators avoid renting stands and prefer to spend advertising on digital platforms, they do not hesitate to rent large areas at Feıre for Alle. The main reason for this is that the holiday decision is made at this fair and hot sales are made.”

“ALANYA STANDI WAS FLOODED WITH VISITORS”

“Türkiye participated in the fair with a large stand organized by the TGA and the Copenhagen Culture and Tourism Attaché. The Türkiye stand included hotels, Turkish Airlines (THY), Marmaris Dalaman Airport, ALTAV, and the Copenhagen Culture and Tourism Promotion Attaché. During the fair, visitors to the Türkiye stand received information and materials about Türkiye and the tourism destinations and products it offers. Visitors had fun at our stand, where they were offered Maraş ice cream with animation, and formed queues for ice cream. The social media content shot during these presentations reached thousands of people. In cooperation with Turkish Airlines, airline tickets were raffled off to visitors. Visitors to the Alanya stand were given Alanya promotional brochures, Alanya bags, Alanya souvenirs and 2024 Alanya calendars. The Alanya stand was flooded with visitors who wanted to learn about Alanya and ask questions on various topics throughout the fair.”

“PROMOTION STRATEGIES DISCUSSED”

TGA Product Marketing Manager Ceylan Sensoy gave presentations to tourism professionals explaining Turkey’s sustainability efforts and the variety of products available in Turkey. We met with Copenhagen Tourism Attaché Derya Şerbetçi Acar to discuss the Turkey promotion strategy for this year. We conveyed our appreciation for her valuable work and our readiness to provide all kinds of support for the 2024 planning. We met with 2 separate travel blogger groups. As ALTAV, we started the work and planning to host them in Alanya in the spring of 2024.

“ALANYA-GZP FLIGHT SALES ARE GOING WELL”

We met with the managers of tour operators who bring tourists to Turkey and have stands at the fair. In our meeting with Spies Rejser Manager Carlos Cebrian, we learned that Turkey sales are at the same level as last year, they aim to maintain the figure achieved last year and target to increase it. Spies Rejser will continue to fly to Antalya and Alanya-Gazipaşa Airport (GZP) in 2024. In our meeting with Sunweb Manager Jan Lockhart, he stated that they aim to bring 65 thousand Danish tourists to Turkey in the 2024 season, that the Alanya region is selling very well and that they will continue to fly from three airports: Copenhagen, Billund and Aalborg. Corendon, which decided last summer to make Alanya-Gazipaşa Airport its ‘base’ for its flights from Belgium, Holland and Denmark, will accordingly operate 5 weekly flights from Denmark to Gazipaşa during the summer season. Corendon Denmark Manager Deniz Jensen, who will be entering the third season as a tour operator in Denmark, said that the Alanya Region is selling well and that sales are above a certain level, albeit with ups and downs. Corendon plans to bring 35 thousand tourists from Denmark to Turkey this year. This year’s planning represents a 35% increase compared to the 25 thousand figure achieved last year. Corendon’s Denmark summer operation will take place between May 8 and October 27. We conveyed to Deniz Jensen that our expectation as a destination is for the season to be kept long by our tour operators and especially to be extended to mid-November.

“AIMING TO EXCEED 350 THOUSAND IN DENMARK”

330 thousand people came from Denmark to Turkey in 2023. The previous year, this number was announced as 350 thousand. The goal for 2024 is to exceed 350 thousand again. We can say that Denmark stands out from other Scandinavian countries with some of its characteristics. While other Northern European countries are more affected by political developments and news in the media, Danes do not care about these factors as much when making their holiday preferences. However, the earthquake disaster that occurred in our country last year affected Denmark as much as it did all countries. On the other hand, since the attempts to burn our holy book Quran and the NATO processes of Sweden and Finland were constantly covered with very different headlines in the mainstream media, the demand for holidays was also negatively affected. Despite everything, there was no major loss in 2023 compared to the 2022 season. We can say that these political issues have completely ended now. This is the most important factor that will allow the Danes to make their holiday decisions faster. Because Turkey is a destination that Danes remain loyal to and are happy to spend their holidays in.

“TURKEY’S BRAND VALUE IS STRENGTHENING”

TGA, on the other hand, is promoting and creating awareness of Turkey’s tourism products, which are much different than the sea, sand, and sun trio, to tourism professionals in Northern countries, as well as all over the world. Alanya and Antalya products alone will not be enough to increase the number of passengers coming from Denmark. Therefore, in addition to the Aegean Region being included in the game, TGA and our Copenhagen Tourism Attaché Office are working intensively to attract Danish travelers to our country with very different products such as golf, cultural tours, health tourism, gastronomy, city explorations, and Cappadocia. The fact that a full-page article featuring Michelin-starred restaurants and chefs in Istanbul was recently published in the very influential Politiken newspaper is a very successful example in terms of bringing world-renowned brands to Turkey and thus strengthening Turkey’s brand value. In order to achieve Turkey’s goal of 100 million tourists, it is the most important criterion to ensure that people from every country who have never come before come to our country by promoting all the natural beauties and different products that our country has created.

“SUSTAINABILITY AFFECTS HOLIDAY PREFERENCE”

In addition to these, we should not forget that the concept of sustainability is very important for Danish tourists. Citizens of Northern countries, who live the concept of sustainability in every step of their lives, pay attention to the sustainability and environmental sensitivity of the regions and businesses they will go to in their holiday preferences. The work done or not done in this regard can affect their preferences. Especially in tourist destinations like Alanya, where the main product is not the hotels but the city itself, it is not enough for only tourist facilities to work on sustainability. It is inevitable and necessary for local administrations and all kinds of businesses to be a part of this process and to act within a long-term action plan. In 2024, we will continue to increase the number of tourists and the diversity of tourists from Scandinavian countries, which are one of the 4 regions where special work is done within the 200 countries that TGA promotes.

The 27th Eastern Mediterranean International Tourism and Travel Fair (EMITT) kicked off today despite the absence of Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy and Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu due to the anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, 2023, which affected 11 provinces.

Among those representing Alanya at the fair are Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University (ALKÜ) Rector Prof. Dr. Kenan Ahmet Türkdoğan, Alanya Tourism Operators Association (ALTİD) President Burhan Sili, Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation (ALTAV) and ALTİD Vice President Mehmet Dahaoğlu, Alanya Municipality Council Member Nuri Tokuş, ALTAV and ALTİD Board Member Şükrü Cimrin, and Altav Board Member Burçin Cevdet Çetinsöz. Antalya Metropolitan Mayor Muhittin Böcek visited the Alanya stand after the ribbon-cutting ceremony and met with the Alanya delegation.

Throughout the fair, Alanya will be welcoming visitors at a specially designed 42-square-meter stand. The stand will use various promotional materials and visuals to showcase the city’s unique beauty and tourism potential.

Mehmet Dahaoğlu, Vice President of ALTAV and ALTİD, commented on the first day of the fair:

“Today marks the first anniversary of the Kahramanmaraş earthquake. We take this opportunity to commemorate our citizens who lost their lives in the disaster. We have taken our place at the fairground. Considering the anniversary of the earthquake, the turnout on the first day of the 27th EMITT Fair was lower than expected. However, we hope to see a much higher turnout in the next 3 days, including the public days. We will continue our meetings for 4 days to introduce Alanya to all visitors and promote our city in the best possible way.”

The Alanya stand at the EMITT Fair has also become a meeting point for Alanya tourism professionals. The stand hosts intensive discussions about Alanya’s tourism potential and opportunities. It also serves as a platform for fostering cooperation and promotional opportunities by hosting industry representatives.

In the tourism capital of Alanya, the opening ceremony welcomed visitors to the Alanya Hotel, Café, Restaurant Equipment Fair, the Alanya Non-Food Consumption Products, Food and Beverage Fair, and the 8th Gastro Alanya International Cooking Competition. Alanya Mayor Adem Murat Yücel, ALTID President Burhan Sili, representatives from civil society organizations, as well as representatives from politics and the business world, participated in the fair opening.

“We Can Revitalize Winter Tourism”

Highlighting the significance of fairs as an important branch of tourism, ALTID President Burhan Sili stated, “Today, for the first time in Alanya, this fair is being held thanks to Ergül Bey and his team at Başak Fuarcılık, with the support of our municipality and all other institutions. I hope that in the coming years, it will continue to grow and expand, garnering even more attention. I know that this structure, which is important for boosting Alanya’s tourism even during the winter season, is supported by you. I believe it will continue even more positively from now on.”