The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Silk Road Ministers’ Conference was held...

Minister of Culture and Tourism Avcı: "I believe that the Silk Road region, which is so rich in cultural terms, can become a brand through the right marketing and promotional strategies"

Minister of Culture and Tourism Nabi Avcı said, "I believe that the Silk Road region, which is so rich in cultural terms, can become a brand through the right marketing and promotional strategies."

Minister Avcı attended the 7th United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Silk Road Ministers’ Conference, held within the scope of the 51st International Tourism Exchange (ITB) Fair.

In his speech there, Minister Avcı said that, regarding the handling of the Silk Road theme as a brand and a promotional element, Türkiye is pleased to take part alongside Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan in the "Modern Silk Road Joint Tour Package Project", whose efforts are being carried out under the leadership of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking Countries.

Saying, "As Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, we are carrying out efforts to implement the Modern Silk Road Tour Package in order to revive the Historic Silk Road and strengthen it as a tourism product," Avcı stated that, in this context, through the cooperation of the tourism institutions and private sector representatives of these countries, an interconnected route covering the Silk Road itineraries of the four countries has been created.

Minister Avcı noted that the route in question will start from Türkiye and then follow the destinations of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan respectively.

Conveying that the tour package, whose purpose is to promote the region to tourists interested in cultural tourism all over the world, can be marketed both as covering all four countries and as covering two countries at a time, Avcı continued his remarks as follows:

"A consortium consisting of tour operators has been established for the Modern Silk Road Tour Package, on which the tour operators of the four member countries will work jointly. The first two promotional tours of the package, which has the full support of the member countries’ tourism organizations and national airline companies, will be carried out in the coming period for travel writers and travel agency representatives. So far, three familiarization trips have been carried out with the participation of member countries’ agency representatives, and concrete efforts have been made to transform the destination into a final tourism product."

Stating that, through the Baku, Astana, Tashkent, Ashgabat, and Bishkek culture and promotion counselor offices within the overseas organization of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, various social events have been held alongside fair, advertising, and hospitality activities to promote Türkiye’s cultural and touristic features, Avcı noted that the "Modern Silk Road Joint Tour Package Project" has also been included among these promotional activities and events.

Minister Avcı, stating that he supports the international promotion of the project, said, "In the Turkic Republics located on the Historic Silk Road, our counselor offices will participate in five tourism fairs in 2017."

Gastronomy Tourism

Pointing out that food and beverage expenditures make up 30 percent of travel spending worldwide, Avcı stated that 88 percent of tourists research the food and beverage culture of the places they will visit. In this context, noting that gastronomy tourism is an element that must be taken into account when carrying out tourism planning related to the Silk Road, Avcı expressed that the Silk Road region possesses sufficient elements of attraction for gastronomy tourism.

Minister Avcı said, "I believe that the Silk Road region, which is so rich in cultural terms, can become a brand through the right marketing and promotional strategies. Unlike other types of tourism, gastronomy tourism, as a tourism activity that takes place throughout the year, will also make a great contribution to spreading tourism across the year in the Silk Road region."

Drawing attention to the fact that, in parallel with its unique geographical location, Anatolia has played the role of a bridge of civilizations between east and west, north and south throughout history, Minister Avcı conveyed that this manifests itself best in its culinary culture.

Minister Avcı said, "Anatolian cuisine, which is the heritage and synthesis of Mediterranean, Central Asian, Middle Eastern, Balkan, and Caucasian cuisines, manifests itself most perfectly in the cuisine of Gaziantep."

Referring to Gaziantep, one of the most important destinations on Anatolia’s Historic Silk Road route and home to Zeugma, Avcı continued his speech as follows:

"This Silk Road city of ours, which brings its culinary culture to the fore in building its brand value, has become one of the most attractive destinations of recent years in terms of both domestic and international tourism. As a result of a stable, sustainable, and planned approach, it has also certified this distinction on the international platform. The city of Gaziantep, famous for our country’s culinary culture, joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2015 with its cuisine. It also represents our country in the European Destinations of Excellence network, again with its culinary culture. In this context, I would also like to state that we would be pleased to share our experiences with the member countries of the Silk Road program."