Taking place from March 19-21, the International MITT Tourism Fair has been held continuously in Moscow for the past 30 years, becoming a key meeting point for the industry. Recognized as an effective B2B platform for travel and accommodation professionals, MITT annually brings together tourism sector representatives from Russia and around the world. With 909 companies and organizations from 30 countries participating in the fair, Alanya is taking its place with a specially designed eye-catching stand. Mehmet Dahaoğlu, Vice President of the Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation (ALTAV) and the Alanya Touristic Hoteliers Association (ALTID), who is part of the Alanya delegation at the 3-day fair, stated that the stand has been experiencing intense visitor traffic throughout the day. Among the visitors to the Alanya stand was Moscow Ambassador Tanju Bilgiç.

Alanya in the Spotlight at MITT Moscow Fair

Providing information about the fair, which is being held in Moscow, an important tourism market for Alanya, Dahaoğlu said, “Our stand, specially designed for the Moscow Fair, has made Alanya this year’s most popular stand from the first day. Our stand, which has a modern and impressive design, has been prepared to both visually represent Alanya in the best way and to include all the necessary content. We are happy to receive the appreciation of our visitors. The Moscow Fair is going very well for us. It is encouraging to see the interest in the Alanya stand and the queues formed in front of the stand to get information. This year, one of the most striking aspects of the MITT Moscow Fair is the absence of major tour operators such as Anex Tour, Tez Tour, Coral Travel, Biblo Globus, and Pegas. This is a really disappointing development for our industry, as many local agency representatives are disappointed not to see tour operators at the fair to discuss agreements. Major tour operators prefer to hold workshops with hoteliers before and after the fair. Nobody can understand why they are not participating despite the support of our Ministry. Such fairs can only be more active and sustainable with the support and cooperation of all stakeholders. We invite major tour operators to join us at the fair and show solidarity with the industry. When we look at the figures, we see that Russia has always been one of the most preferred destinations for Turkish tourists, and we expect this to continue in the coming period.”

“Russians Prefer Alanya in the Mediterranean”

Drawing attention to the fact that Alanya is the most popular destination among visitors to the fair, Dahaoğlu said, “Another development that we observe at the fair and that makes us very happy on behalf of Alanya is that visitors are asking about Alanya first among all Mediterranean destinations. Russian tourists are also preferring our region this year due to reasons such as its wide range of accommodation options, affordable prices, and the advantages the city offers. Our Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, had told us in our meeting at the ITB Berlin Fair that Germans are currently the most preferred tourists in Turkey. However, looking at the interest in the MITT Moscow Fair and the talks we have had, we think that this may change in the coming period. As in previous years, with last-minute sales, Russian tourists will once again take the first place among the countries that prefer Turkey the most.”

Positive Momentum in the Russian Market

Mehmet Dahaoglu also shared details of the talks he had at the fair. “One of the important problems regarding this market is the need for technical support and equipment supply for the aircraft to fly. However, unfortunately, the inability to carry out the necessary maintenance on aircraft due to the sanctions imposed by Europe and America is causing major problems here. We hope that this will also be resolved as soon as possible and that the planes will fly in the skies where they belong. On the other hand, in our meetings with local tour operators and agency representatives, we discussed the economic difficulties experienced in Russia and the possible decrease in the purchasing power of people due to the expected change in the exchange rate of the ruble against foreign currencies following the recent elections. In addition, the fact that Putin received a record number of votes and was re-elected president with 87% of the people’s votes in the elections shows that the people support the government’s policy, which also indicates that the war will not end easily. However, despite these evaluations, our confidence in the sector is full. We maintain our belief that we will gain positive momentum in the Russian market this year, as every year, and that the demand of holidaymakers will continue to increase,” he said.

The tourism professionals participating in the fair will return with their forecasts for the 2024 season after the meetings they will hold for 3 days.

Speaking on the Bölge Gündemi program of TRT Antalya Radio, Sili shared his evaluations of the ITB Berlin Fair, which was held on March 5-7, and his expectations for the 2024 tourism season. The following are the key points from Sili’s speech:

“ALL WORLD REPRESENTATIVES COME TOGETHER IN BERLIN”

ALTID President Burhan Sili stated that they participate in various tourism fairs in different countries throughout the year on behalf of Alanya for the marketing of the season and products. Sili said, “We participate in fairs in Scandinavian countries, Central European countries, England, Holland, Dubai and many other source markets. However, the difference of ITB Berlin Fair from other fairs is that while only the representatives of that country are generally present in all other fairs, representatives from all over the world are present in Berlin. Thus, it becomes a fair where we can clearly perceive the season and come together with all source market representatives. In this sense, ITB Berlin Fair is extremely important. This year again, we had a very extensive and effective fair process with the participation of everyone from all countries of the world, all continents, different products being offered. Both the stand of our country Turkey and the stand of our region Alanya were very popular and had a pleasant experience. Therefore, when we evaluate this process, we believe that we have achieved a serious success in the meetings and studies we have made regarding the next season. In the meantime, different products were also featured at the fair. Considering that the whole world is digitalizing, the process is now evolving into a different marketing method. In addition to the classic marketing methods that we know, there was also a very large digital marketing section at the ITB Berlin Fair and it was a hall that attracted a lot of attention. We are also adapting to this process in terms of marketing. We have been actively working in these digital areas as well, apart from our own classic networks.”

“ALANYA STAND HOSTED THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN IN BERLIN”

Sili stated that Alanya participated in the ITB Berlin Fair with an 80-square-meter stand this year. He said, “Our stand had 7 tables and a meeting room. In our stand, hoteliers not only from the Alanya region but also from different cities in the Mediterranean basin came and met with tour operators and made appointments. On the other hand, our large volume tour operators also met with hoteliers at our stand. Because, as you know, the ITB Berlin Fair is a very costly fair and even if large tour operators take a stand, it is not enough. Therefore, they also hold meetings with different areas. Both tour operators from our different source markets and our own hoteliers held meetings at our stand. We participated with a large stand in order to provide this opportunity. Alanya was also successful in this.”

“ALANYA’S TOURISM DEVELOPED WITH GERMAN GUESTS”

Sili, stating that the three main markets of the Mediterranean basin in terms of numbers are Russia, Germany and England, said, “Germany has been a very serious source market for many years, sending the most guests to the whole world. Therefore, although Alanya’s tourism started with the French in the 50s and 60s, Alanya later developed its tourism based on the demand of the Germans. Today, it is one of the leading countries sending the most guests to Antalya and Alanya in Turkey. When we look at the figures of the last year and the previous years, it is very important for us not to lose the German market in this sense. On the other hand, I want to emphasize that we need to create new demands. Because Germans, by their nature, once they start staying in a region or a hotel, if they are satisfied, they do not change it for years. However, we need to create a process where this generation will also show a more serious interest in our country, taking into account the expectations of the new generation, their preferences in terms of products, their indifference to traditional marketing methods in terms of marketing channels, and their interest in new digital marketing. In this context, the German market is a very important market, not only for our region but for the whole world.”

“ONE OF THE BEST THINGS TURKEY DOES IS TOURISM”

Responding to a question about the problems experienced in the tourism sector and the increase in numbers with the pandemic process, President Sili said: “Here I would like to point out an important issue that needs to be highlighted. As you know, the Turkey Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) was established in Turkey in 2019. Today, despite the fact that we realized this much later than our competitors and countries with a say in tourism, we have achieved a very serious success in terms of marketing. Thanks to TGA, a serious work was done during the pandemic process in 2020. It was important for us to keep the flight channels open to our country in 2020 and to host guests, albeit a small number, despite the fact that a very large number of our facilities were closed that year. In other words, when we look at Turkey in general and Alanya and Antalya in particular, we continued the flow of guests despite the pandemic. Therefore, the increase and recovery in 2021-2022 was much faster than in other countries. In 2023, we also had the chance to serve our guests with record numbers, both in our country in general and in our region. On the other hand, of course, the works carried out by our Ministry of Culture and Tourism resulted in the spread of tourism to 81 provinces in Turkey, the work done for different products and different source markets, and the works done to increase the demand for Turkey in this context were extremely beneficial for the development of Turkish tourism and regional tourism. As for 2024, I can say that a very positive season awaits us with numbers above 2023, according to all the fairs we have participated in since October, the meetings we have held with tour operators and industry professionals, and the pre-booking figures we have. Tourism is one of the best things Turkey does. It is something I always say; it is Turkey’s oil, gold, whatever you say, but the tourism sector is a very important, indispensable sector for Turkey. Therefore, we can say that we will have a positive season next season and continue to contribute to Turkey, if there are no problems in the world.”

Continuing to make its name known as the tourism capital of Turkey, Alanya was represented at the fair by a specially designed 80-square-meter stand. Alanya Touristic Hoteliers Association (ALTID) President Burhan Sili, Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation (ALTAV) and ALTID Vice President Mehmet Dahaoglu, ALTAV Board Member Gurol Birgen and ALTAV Board Member Nevzat Ozdemir represented Alanya at the fair. The stand, which was meticulously prepared by ALTAV and ALTID, who have been working on it for a long time for the annually held fair, also provides an opportunity for Alanya tourism professionals to hold their meetings.

“30% INCREASE IN GERMANY”

ALTAV and ALTID Vice President Mehmet Dahaoglu made an assessment of the ITB Berlin Fair and said, “We have been preparing for this fair for a long time as ALTAV and ALTID. As a result of our efforts, we continue our activities at our stand, which we have carefully prepared in order to strengthen Alanya’s presence in the international arena. Based on the meetings we have held with tourism professionals, I can say that; A 30% increase has been achieved for 2024 compared to the previous year in Germany. However, in our meetings, we talked about the fact that the older generation in Germany especially prefers Turkey, and that we need to work on attracting the new generation youth to our country and region. In this direction, we can research other touristic points preferred by young people in Germany and develop activities and solutions for them in our country. In this way, we can increase the likelihood of young people in the German market preferring Turkey. In addition, many agencies have purchased seats from Corendon Airlines to fly from 6 different cities in Germany to Gazipaşa-Alanya (GZP) Airport. They also told us that the ongoing sales are going well. If the sales continue in the same way, the number of seats will be increased, and in parallel, the number of aircraft will also increase, and Gazipaşa-Alanya Airport can reach the desired level in the coming years.”

After the meetings and visits on the first day, the interest of visitors and the meetings of tourism professionals continued intensively at the Alanya stand on the second day of the fair.

“MINISTER ERSOY VISITS ALANYA STAND”

On the first day of ITB Berlin Fair, Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy visited the Alanya stand, chatted with Alanya tourism professionals at the stand, and made evaluations about the fair. Among those who visited the Alanya stand with Minister Ersoy were Ersin Tatar, President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), and Eray Erdem, President of Alanya Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ALTSO). President Erdem and the ALTSO delegation supported the promotional activities of Alanya for the German market at the stand at the ITB Berlin fair.

On the other hand, the Alanya stand became one of the liveliest points of the fair with colorful brochures, promotional materials and gifts specific to Alanya. Visitors to the stand throughout the day continue to learn about Alanya’s beaches, historical castles, nature walking trails and water sports facilities.