At the 44th Belgrade Tourism Fair in Serbia, Alanya was promoted. Providing insights and evaluations based on observations and discussions at the fair, Şükrü Cimrin, a member of the Board of Directors of the Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation (ALTAV) and the Turkey Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA), shared the following information:
This year, from February 23 to 26, we are participating in the fair as ALTAV within the TGA stand. We have a designated section for ALTAV in the TGA stand at the largest tourism fair in Serbia, which is crucial for our country and Alanya tourism.
At the meticulously prepared fair, with the organization of TGA and the Belgrade Cultural and Tourism Attaché Mr. Mert Demiral, Serbian Minister of Tourism and Youth Husein Memic, and our Serbian Ambassador Mr. Hami Aksoy visited the Turkish stand on the first day and the first hour of the fair, holding a press conference. In the press statement, attended by numerous members of the press, the Serbian Minister of Tourism mentioned that Serbian citizens set a record for their holidays in Turkey in 2022 and expressed the expectation of breaking new records in 2023. He urged Serbian citizens not to hesitate to choose Turkey for their vacations, stating that Serbia has always been beside Turkey. He also emphasized his belief that the recovery process for earthquake victims in Turkey would happen as quickly as possible. The Minister added that the distance between the earthquake zone and holiday destinations is at least 800 kilometers.
The press conference, organized with intensive efforts by the TGA and our Belgrade Cultural and Tourism Attaché, was, in our opinion, a highly successful PR campaign, providing the Serbian people with assurances from the most authoritative source. The press conference is expected to be frequently covered in the Serbian media in the coming days.
After the press conference, Serbian Minister of Tourism and Youth Husein Memic visited the Alanya stand. During his visit, we presented him with a Turkish flag embroidered on behalf of our Mayor, Mr. Adem Murat Yücel.
Our Serbian Ambassador, Mr. Hami Aksoy, also visited the Alanya stand, and we had a productive exchange of views with him.
In 2022, the number of tourists from Serbia to Turkey was 357,750, indicating a 50% increase compared to 2021.
Based on information received from Big Blue, the tour operator bringing the most tourists to Turkey, Director Enver Babat, and Operations Manager Dusan Anastasov, and looking at the plans of Barcino Tour and other tour operators, the target and planning set for the Serbian market for the 2023 season is 500,000 passengers.
In the Serbian market, which has high growth potential, TGA has conducted intensive advertising campaigns and hospitality events after the pandemic. Despite the growing demand resulting from these promotional activities, the major obstacle to reflecting the desired pace on seats is the operation of charter flights from Serbia by Air Serbia and the airline’s inability to meet the increasing demand for additional flights at the same rate. Additionally, Turkish Airlines operates three daily flights between Belgrade and Istanbul, and Anadolu Jet has also initiated flights to Ankara. Air Serbia continues its flights to Istanbul with a total of 16 flights per week. Information suggests that Air Serbia will soon commence flights to Ankara.
Efforts are underway, led by both tour operators and our Cultural and Tourism Attaché, Mr. Mert Demiral, to encourage Air Serbia to add more charter flights.
The Alanya and Kemer regions stand out as the most visited destinations. In addition, within the framework of TGA’s tourism strategy promoting all of Turkey from every corner of the world, advertising and hospitality activities continue to showcase the entire country.
TAV Gazipaşa-Alanya Airport representatives Eren Kestek and Tuğçe Tozlu, who secured their place at the Turkey stand, put great effort into the fair by conducting discussions related to Air Serbia’s flights to Gazipaşa initiated last year and promoting the airport.
During our meeting with our Cultural and Tourism Attaché in Belgrade, Mr. Mert Demiral, we agreed to organize press and influencer events in Alanya and Antalya in April and May, and we will initiate the preparations for these activities after the fair.
In Serbia, where we have reached a significant number of tourists relative to its 7 million population, we have full confidence in achieving the target of 500,000 for the year 2023. We express our gratitude to TGA, our Cultural and Tourism Attaché Mr. Mert Demiral, and all valuable tour operators who continually increase capacity in this regard.
