ITB Berlin 2017 - Ministry of Culture and Tourism Press Conference Held...

As part of the ongoing ITB tourism fair in Berlin, the press conference held by Minister of Culture and Tourism Nabi Avcı was attended by speakers İrfan Önal, Director General of Promotion at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, İsmail Taşdemir, General Manager of the Association of Turkish Hoteliers (TÜROB), Osman Ayık, President of the Turkish Hotels Federation (TÜROFED), and Çetin Gürcün, Secretary General of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB).

At the press conference, Minister of Culture and Tourism Nabi Avcı emphasized Türkiye's strong tourism potential and the strong ties between German and Turkish tourism.

Minister of Culture and Tourism Nabi Avcı: "Over the past 15 years, Türkiye has truly written an important success story in tourism. Considering our 2023 targets, with your contributions and those of both our Turkish and German sector representatives, we have already achieved our goal of ranking among the world's top 10 in the tourism sector."

Minister Nabi Avcı: "Offering visitors alternative holiday options with many types of tourism, our country serves visitors at high-standard facilities with 444 blue-flag beaches and marinas and a capacity of approximately 1,250,000 beds."

Minister Nabi Avcı: "We also invite our German friends who wish to hold their weddings in Türkiye."

Minister Nabi Avcı: "Just as there are judges in Berlin, there are also judges in İstanbul and in Ankara. When they render their decision on this matter, it falls to you and to me to respect that judicial ruling."

Minister Nabi Avcı: "It is not as if we could say, 'If the Germans don't come, we'll go and bring the Japanese instead.' This is our traditional market, and we have well-established institutions here. There are companies, both in Germany and in Türkiye, that have devoted years to this work and built careers and brands on it. We could never disregard their efforts. Even if, hypothetically, we were to say such a thing, it would not match the reality on the ground."

Minister of Culture and Tourism Nabi Avcı said that Türkiye has written an important success story in tourism over the past 15 years.

At the press conference held at the 51st International Tourism Bourse (ITB) Fair, Minister Nabi Avcı stated that the world tourism market is changing and transforming day by day in parallel with global, regional and local developments.

Pointing out that many different factors, from technological innovations to global warming and from political disputes to economic factors, shape travel trends, Minister Avcı stated that, in the face of regional and seasonal problems, Turkish tourism continues to look to the future with confidence through measures aimed at preserving its esteemed position in the international community.

Emphasizing that Türkiye has achieved significant success in the tourism sector in recent years, Minister Avcı said: "Over the past 15 years, Türkiye has truly written an important success story in tourism. Considering our 2023 targets, with your contributions and those of both our Turkish and German sector representatives, we have already achieved our goal of ranking among the world's top 10 in the tourism sector."

Minister Avcı emphasized that the confidence in Turkish tourism is rooted in a very strong tourism sector built on environmentally friendly, innovative, sustainable and competitive development strategies, offering services with a principle and approach of hospitality.

Noting that the negative events that have affected tourism around the world recently have also affected Turkish tourism, Nabi Avcı said: "For this reason, taking into account the latest developments in the tourism sector, following the transformation and new tourism trends in the world, and considering the new demands that have emerged, we are focusing on mobilizing our country's great tourism supply potential. In our work, we attach special importance to all European countries, above all Germany, that have favored our country for their holiday choices from the past to the present."

Noting that, during German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to Türkiye, mutual understanding and cooperation were emphasized in her talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Avcı conveyed that the Turkish tourism sector draws strength from this.

Minister Nabi Avcı stated that the historically rooted Turkish-German friendship continues to develop in line with Turkish citizens living in Germany, historical ties, economic and touristic relations, and common interests.

Conveying that in 2017 Türkiye will continue to carry out promotional and marketing activities with tour operators across various channels in an expanded manner, Minister Avcı said: "Offering visitors alternative holiday options with many types of tourism, our country serves visitors at high-standard facilities with 444 blue-flag beaches and marinas and a capacity of approximately 1,250,000 beds."

Pointing to the slowdown in tourism in 2016, Minister Avcı assessed: "We are striving to overcome the negative repercussions in our country of the slowdown experienced in world tourism in 2016 by opening up to different destinations and by promoting our diverse tourism riches even more effectively."

Stating that he wished to announce a productive collaboration, Nabi Avcı continued as follows:

"Held since 2010 and regarded as one of Europe's most prestigious inter-club basketball leagues, the Euroleague Basketball Organization is a colossal event in which dozens of basketball teams from many European countries compete, nearly 500 matches are played during the season, and which has over 2 million spectators in total and a digital following exceeding 627 million, with fans from every part of the world. As the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, we have been an important supporter of this tournament for the past 3 years. We are also greatly pleased to be an important partner of this significant tournament in the 2016-2017 season, which the whole world will once again follow with interest."

Avcı also invited everyone to İstanbul in 2017 for many cultural and artistic gatherings such as the İstanbul Music Festival, Film Festival, Jazz Festival and İstanbul Biennial, which are ranked among the world's leading festivals by European art authorities.

The "Bring Your Neighbor Along" Campaign

Recalling that a new campaign aimed at Turkish citizens residing in Europe had been launched this year under the patronage of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Minister Nabi Avcı noted the following:

"With the campaign titled 'Bring Your Neighbor Along,' we invite our citizens abroad to come, together with their friends and neighbors, to the world's most hospitable country and to spend their holidays and hold their weddings in our country. Of course, we especially invite our German friends who wish to hold their weddings in Türkiye. Because we have guests who come to Türkiye, to Antalya, for weddings in a serious way from India. They are very pleased and happy. In this context, we would like them to hold their weddings, engagements and similar events in our country, and to celebrate their marriage ceremonies in our country, together with their guests, amid the beauty of Türkiye. In this context, I would like to announce that various incentives and discounts will be offered to our citizens living abroad and their neighbors, and that some of our campaign operators have begun their promotions in this regard."

Also recalling that fuel support was provided in 2016 to tour operators bringing tourists to Türkiye, Minister Avcı stated that this support would continue in an expanded manner in 2017.

Minister Avcı noted that the support of European friends, especially the Germans, has been of great importance at this significant point Turkish tourism has reached and in the success it continues to maintain.

Stating that tourism is in fact a perception-management sector, Minister Nabi Avcı said: "Tourism is a sector that operates according to a reverse Murphy's law: the more you say it's doing well, the greater its potential to do well, and the more you say it's going badly, the worse it goes. Managing perception is very important. Certain filtering and infiltration efforts seeking to muddy perception processes are very clearly visible in the media of both countries, especially in the online media. It is beneficial for the mainstream media, both in Türkiye and in Germany, to be very vigilant. This is to the benefit of both Germany and Türkiye."

Minister Avcı said that Türkiye has had a harmonious relationship with its German friends for years in the tourism sector, and that 2017 would be a better year for tourism.

Speaking of the incentives provided for tourism in Türkiye, Minister Avcı explained that they have continued the $6,000-per-aircraft fuel support by adding 4 airports, that this year support is being given to both charter and scheduled flights, and that they have also developed joint projects with German tour operators with whom they are organizing joint promotional campaigns.

"We Have Taken the Necessary Measures"

Pointing out that they have received positive feedback from German operators on the "Bring Your Neighbor Along" project, Minister Avcı assessed: "We have measures in place regarding the situations of the German counterparts of our German friends in Türkiye. We have measures in place to preserve employment in the tourism sector. Under the difficult conditions of 2016, we implemented the necessary measures in many areas, such as the restructuring of loan repayments and the restructuring and deferral of rent payments, in order to keep the sector's trained workforce afloat. In my meeting with sector representatives, they expressed their appreciation regarding the timing. I am confident that 2017 and 2018 will go better than last year."

Stating that there was a contraction in tourism last year, Minister Nabi Avcı said the following:

"We experienced a contraction in tourism. The ways in which global terrorism in Europe and the dramatic events in Türkiye were reflected abroad also had an effect. The main effect was the crisis we experienced with Russia. In 2016, Russia-Türkiye relations went through a serious turning point. Through the initiatives of Mr. Putin and Mr. Erdoğan, this crisis was overcome. There is a serious recovery in the Russian market. In 2017, the Russian market may have the potential to reach, and even exceed, its levels of 2013, 2014 and 2015. There is serious effort in Germany and the United Kingdom. 2017 will be better. We will all keep getting better together every year."

In response to a question from a Spiegel reporter, "Can you guarantee that I will not be arrested when I go to Türkiye?", Minister Nabi Avcı replied: "However you can guarantee me that a journalist will not be arrested in Germany, I can give you the same guarantee."

Advising German journalists to come to Türkiye and personally witness the country's beauties, Minister Avcı said: "As official authorities, welcome, you are most welcome. You will receive service at the same standards as in the past. It is not enough for me to say this. More than my saying it, your seeing and experiencing it for yourselves, and the testimony you will give to it, is very important. All our German friends who come to Türkiye continue to be received today with the same hospitality with which they were received in the past. Right now, tourists from many countries are happily spending their holidays in tourist regions."

"Türkiye Is Not Just About Sea, Sand and Sun Tourism"

Emphasizing that Türkiye has undertaken a fundamental change in its promotional strategy, Minister Nabi Avcı stated that promotions previously focused solely on the sea, sand and sun theme have been enriched with more diverse fields such as health, archaeology, adventure and winter tourism.

Minister Nabi Avcı continued as follows:

"Türkiye is an extraordinary destination for every type of tourism you can think of, including health, sports, congress, adventure, winter and skiing tourism, no less so than for sea, sand and sun. We have undertaken a fundamental change in the way we promote, which until now went through the sun. We have set a new strategy by proceeding province by province. We are working across a broad spectrum to promote the opportunities we offer for young people, athletes and health tourism. Antalya is the best-known destination in the German market. Among the world's archaeology museums, the undamaged statue of Aphrodite is in the Antalya museum. On my last visit, I attended the ceremony for the addition of 12 newly discovered statues to the museum. One of the richest archaeology museums is in Antalya."

Pointing out that the Eastern Black Sea region is an attraction center for Arab tourists, Avcı said that the establishment of special holiday villages for Arabs is on the agenda, and that for this the Islamic Development Bank could provide the necessary facilities to investors in terms of capital guarantees.

"We Are Not So Pollyanna-ish as to Say It Will Suddenly Return to the Old Figures"

Stating that fuel support is being provided for 14 airports in Türkiye, Minister of Culture and Tourism Nabi Avcı said: "At Sabiha Gökçen, we provide this support only for charter flights. At the others we pay for both charter and scheduled flights. We give $6,000 to those bringing more than 150 passengers and $7,800 to those bringing more than 200 passengers. We will provide this support until the end of this year. Of course, whether we will reach the tourist figures of previous years is very difficult to predict today. One of the factors strengthening this is last-minute, instant bookings. There can be increases in these. Right now, positive signs are coming, but I cannot say how high it will rise. We are not so Pollyanna-ish as to say it will suddenly return to the old figures."

In response to a German journalist's question about Deniz Yücel, the Die Welt correspondent held in Türkiye, Minister Avcı said: "I am not as brave as you when it comes to putting myself in the place of the judiciary. I, too, would like the journalist in question to prove his innocence as soon as possible and return to his country. This is a judicial process. Just as there are judges in Berlin, there are also judges in İstanbul and in Ankara. When they render their decision on this matter, it falls to you and to me to respect that judicial ruling."

Minister Nabi Avcı also reported that the promotional budget in Türkiye is not sufficient, but that they are making efforts to increase it.

"It Is Not as If We Could Say, 'If the Germans Don't Come, We'll Go and Bring the Japanese'"

Assessing the claims that the German market had dropped from 3rd place to 8th place in Türkiye, Nabi Avcı continued his remarks as follows:

"I have addressed this issue on various occasions in Türkiye. Until recently, we promoted Türkiye as sea, sand and sun. We need to diversify our promotion accordingly to match our extraordinary potential in all types of tourism. This also means diversifying our market. The Japanese tourist, for example, goes into the sea, but comes more for archaeology. The Chinese and Arabs come for gastronomy. Indians come to Antalya to hold weddings. This product diversification means market diversification. We organize campaigns to promote these products there. But we have never thought of this as an alternative market to our traditional market, or as alternative products to our traditional products. Nor would that be right. Why should gastronomy tourism be an alternative to sea tourism? On the contrary, these are complementary types. If we have the opportunity to spread the tourism season across the whole year with gastronomy, mountain, sea, thermal spring and health tourism, why should we see them as alternatives to one another? It is not as if we could say, 'If the Germans don't come, we'll go and bring the Japanese instead.' Our traditional market is here, and we have well-established institutions. There are companies, both in Germany and in Türkiye, that have devoted years to this work and built careers and brands on it. We could never disregard their efforts. Even if, hypothetically, we were to say such a thing, it would not match the reality on the ground. Over 20 million Germans have personally come to, gotten to know, and experienced Türkiye. There are Germans who have settled in Türkiye. We are not in a position to insert others between Turks and Germans, who know each other and are in such close relationship."

Stating that they wish to put 2018 on the agenda as the Çanakkale Troy Year, Nabi Avcı added that he was already inviting everyone to Troy, and thus to Türkiye.