Erciyes Ski Center met with Istanbul travel agencies

Investment in the Kayseri Erciyes Ski Center, one of the world's leading ski centers, will reach 450 million euros by 2023.

Noting that more than 200 million euros has been invested in the Erciyes Ski Center to date and that investments are continuing, Dr. Murat Cahid Cıngı, Chairman of the Board of Kayseri Erciyes AŞ, said the following:

"We are our country's largest and one of the world's leading ski centers. To date, more than 200 million euros has been invested in Erciyes. With the public investments to be made in the coming period and the 21 hotels with approximately 6,000 beds to be built by the private sector, investment in the Erciyes Ski Center will reach 450 million euros by 2023," he said.

Explaining that they host ski lovers and skiers from all over the world, from Germany to Russia, from Poland to Italy, and from China to Japan at the Erciyes Winter Center, Murat Cahid Cıngı stated that they aim to host approximately 2,250,000 people at Erciyes during this year's (2018/2019) ski season.

Underlining that the Erciyes Winter Center, which ranks among the world's elite winter sports centers, attracts intense interest particularly from young people and students from our country and from all over the world, Murat Cahid Cıngı said: "For example, a one-day ticket costs 50 euros in Austria, while at Erciyes it is 55 TL. Thanks to its slopes, the technical equipment it offers, its quality, and its being about 10 times more economical, we will very soon become a base especially for young people in winter sports."

Erciyes Ski Center met with travel agencies in Istanbul

The "Promotion of Kayseri and the Erciyes Ski Center" meeting, traditionally held in Istanbul every year, was held on Tuesday, 20 November, hosted by the BW Citadel Hotel within the Artaş Group. It was organized with the intense participation of officials including Türkiye Hoteliers Association (TÜROB) Director General İsmail Taşdemir, Erciyes AŞ Chairman of the Board Dr. Murat Cahid Cıngı, and Artaş Group Tourism Investments Coordinator Recep Arifoğlu, as well as travel agencies from Istanbul and Kayseri.

The results of the promotional activities are paying off in a short time

Recep Arifoğlu, Artaş Group Tourism Investments Coordinator, who delivered the opening speech of the meeting, said the following:

"Our Kayseri, the pearl of Anatolia, has a very rich potential with its 6,000-year history, its culture, its gastronomy, its industry, its commerce, the Sultansazlığı Bird Sanctuary, the Kapuzbaşı Waterfall, and the Erciyes Ski Center. The Erciyes Ski Center is a genuine winter sports center like those in Europe and is among the world's leading ski centers. The results of the promotional activities we carry out together with the Kayseri Governorship, the Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality, local administrations, Erciyes AŞ, THY Kayseri, Kayseri tourism professionals, and our professional association TÜROB have paid off in a short time. The destinations comprising both the Erciyes Ski Center and Cappadocia have attracted intense interest from foreign tour operators and have been included in their travel programs. As tourism professionals, we are trying to contribute to these beauties with new colors. Working in cooperation to draw tourists from nearby countries who have not yet discovered our city to these beauties will be the finest contribution we can make to this city. Our Radisson Blu Hotel in Kayseri was chosen second in the world for guest satisfaction among Radisson Blu hotels in terms of brand value. In addition, we plan to open the doors of our new Radisson Blu Vadistanbul hotel, which we will open at Vadi Istanbul, in January 2019," he said.

Erciyes rivals its counterparts in the world and in Europe

İsmail Taşdemir, Director General of the Türkiye Hoteliers Association (TÜROB), who spoke at the meeting, noted the following:

"In terms of the sustainability of our country's tourism, there is a need for new destinations and new products. The guests who come to our country want to discover new destinations. The spread of tourism to Anatolia is gaining great importance. We have been to Kayseri many times. Erciyes rivals its counterparts in the world and in Europe. We have taken part in promotional events in Ukraine, the Czech Republic, and the Middle East. Many elements such as the Erciyes Winter Center, the historical and cultural richness of Kayseri, hotels including the Radisson Blu Hotel Kayseri, and Cappadocia add value to the region's becoming a world-class tourism destination," he said.

The Erciyes Tourism Master Plan consists of 3 sections

Providing information about the work carried out at the Erciyes Ski Center, Murat Cahid Cıngı explained that the Erciyes Tourism Master Plan consists of 3 sections and continued his remarks as follows:

"According to geological research, Mount Erciyes is approximately 1 million years old. As we just stated, more than 200 million euros has been invested in Erciyes. We have Türkiye's most advanced ski infrastructure and 'artificial snow-making systems.' In addition to our ski slopes exceeding 100 kilometers at different difficulty levels, mechanical facilities popularly known as 'cable cars' such as chairlifts, cable cars, and gondolas, we also have facilities such as moving belts (magic carpets), children's play areas, training areas, sledding areas, and amenities such as baby lifts, snow tubing, and climbing walls to support non-skiing entertainment activities. We are one of the best-managed mountains in the world. Our Erciyes Tourism Master Plan consists of 3 sections: the Erciyes Ski Center, the city of Kayseri with its 6,000-year history, and Cappadocia. As Kayseri Erciyes AŞ, we present Erciyes and our country's winter tourism potential at the international meetings and fairs we attend. The Radisson Blu Hotel Kayseri also continues to promote our city and our country with national pride," he said.

The Artaş Group Tourism Investments team, including Artaş Group Tourism Investments Coordinator Recep Arifoğlu, Radisson Blu Hotel Kayseri General Manager Burak Aydın, Radisson Blu Hotel Vadistanbul General Manager Atakan Altuğ, BW Plus The President Hotel General Manager Atacan Yücel, BW Citadel Hotel General Manager Aytekin Güç, and Avrupa Residence Suites General Manager Ercan Yılmaz, attended closely to the travel agencies that participated in the event from Istanbul and Kayseri.