A "Tourism Stakeholders Meeting" held by Trabzon's Ortahisar Municipality...

Developments concerning Black Sea tourism, the work to be undertaken and possible projects were evaluated at the "Tourism Stakeholders Meeting" organised by Trabzon's Ortahisar Municipality. The meeting was attended by managers of relevant public institutions, Ortahisar Mayor Ahmet Metin Genç, Acting Provincial Director of Culture and Tourism Mustafa Asan, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Melike Kurtaran Çelik of Trabzon University Vocational School of Tourism and Hotel Management, Türkiye Hoteliers Federation Trabzon Representative Yüksel Mutlu, Trabzon Union of Chambers of Tradesmen and Craftsmen Representative Erhan Eroğlu, Trabzon Chamber of Commerce and Industry Board Member Kadem Çakıroğlu, the President of the Eastern Black Sea Regional Representation Board of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB) Hasan Volkan Kantarcı, Trabzon Deputy Police Chief Şevki Pekdemir, Trabzon Port Operations General Manager Muzaffer Ermiş, the Head of the Transportation Department of Trabzon Metropolitan Municipality Fatih Bayraktar, Trabzon City Council President Prof. Dr. Hasan Karal, Trabzon Journalists' Society President Ersen Küçük, Trabzon Industrialists and Business People Association President Seçkin Kanca, Eastern Black Sea Health Tourism Association President Mustafa Yılmaz, TİSAD President Murat Çavga, Trabzon Hoteliers Union and Tourism Development Association President Mustafa Dündar, Black Sea Tourism Operators Association Trabzon Representative Serkan Serdar, tourism operators and members of the press.

Expressing Ortahisar Municipality's projects that contribute to tourism, Ortahisar Mayor Ahmet Metin Genç said: "I would like to share the work that Ortahisar has done in the Metropolitan area. EKOPARK. We took over a 12,000-square-metre area from our Highways Authority. We are now enriching it somewhat further in terms of its internal concept. It is an important destination, especially for citizens living in our city and for those coming from outside. Trabzon History Museum. There are 7,800 historical documents from the Ottoman and Republican periods, 2,200 photographs and 400 books. We opened our museum there in order to carry forward the institutional memory. Pazarkapı New Living Space. The areas we have created here will come into service in the coming days. Again in the same area, we restored a historic building with the financial support of DOKA. Our current thinking is to establish this unit with a museum concept. We also obtained, together with the board's approval, the restoration of the Historic Fountains. We have completed five of them, and we wish to carry these works into the future by restoring them with the same understanding. Kemeraltı Street Rehabilitation. Just as was done by the Metropolitan Municipality in the Meydan area, this is about bringing that area a more beautiful appearance. Our principal aim is to enable the tourists coming to the city to stay longer in the city centre. We must do finer work in the historic areas."

Trabzon Acting Provincial Director of Culture and Tourism Asan, drawing attention to the fact that Trabzon, with its history and existing historical assets, has important destinations, said: "In 2019, 1,660,061 tourists visited. In 2020, this dropped to 688,000 due to the pandemic. In the first 6 months of 2021, 325,914 tourists visited. The number of overnight-staying tourists is 721,000. There is an increase. There has been an increase after the month of June. There is genuinely high occupancy at our facilities. Frankly, we are struggling to accommodate our guests coming from outside. There were 112 landings at the airport from 42 different points."