Obituary & Condolences

It is with great sorrow that we have learned of the passing of the esteemed academic Prof. Dr. İrfan Arıkan, who, in addition to his contributions to the training of countless executives in our sector, was one of the first names that came to mind when "tourism education" was mentioned in our country, and who was known for his versatile, vibrant, modest and dignified personality.

Prof. Dr. İrfan Arıkan was born in Bafra in 1953. After completing his secondary education at İstanbul Erkek Lisesi, he received his bachelor's degree from the Department of Industrial Engineering at Boğaziçi University in 1976. In 1990, he completed his master's degree in the same program at the same university. In 1995, he received his doctoral degree in Tourism from İstanbul University. He began teaching as a lecturer at the Department of Tourism Administration at Boğaziçi University in 1984, served as head of the department between 1994 and 1998, and worked as an Assistant Professor between 1998 and 2002. Between 2002 and 2010, he served as deputy director with the title of professor at the School of Tourism and Hotel Management at Eskişehir Anadolu University. Professor Arıkan continued teaching at seminars organized by BÜYEM in Anatolia, at universities in Austria, Azerbaijan, Vietnam and Serbia, and most recently in the Tourism and Event Management program at IMC-FH University in Krems, Austria. Arıkan, who was also a licensed professional tourist guide, was a member of the Beşiktaş Club Board of Trustees, SKAL İstanbul, TUYED, TUYGAR and İRO.

We pray for God's mercy upon the late Prof. Dr. İrfan Arıkan, whose contributions to our sector will always be remembered with gratitude, and we offer our condolences and wishes for patience to his grieving family above all, as well as to all his friends, relatives, students and our sector.

TÜROB-Türkiye Otelciler Birliği Board of Directors