Tourist partnership among İstanbul, Kayseri and Cappadocia: hot-air balloon in Cappadocia in the morning, skiing in Kayseri at noon

As part of the Association of Turkish Hoteliers' (TÜROB) efforts to diversify Turkish tourism and ensure its sustainability, the first steps of joint promotional work for Kayseri/Cappadocia, in addition to İstanbul, have been taken. Within the scope of the project, Ukraine was identified as the first target market.

Having largely lost their high-income foreign guests during the difficult period experienced in tourism over the past 3 years, the three destinations have taken action to regain the quality tourist group through joint promotion. As part of the Association of Turkish Hoteliers' (TÜROB) efforts to diversify Turkish tourism and ensure its sustainability, the first steps of joint destination work for Kayseri/Cappadocia, in addition to İstanbul, have been taken. Within the scope of the project, Ukraine was identified as the first target market. A high-level delegation consisting of leading travel agencies and tour operators from Ukraine, which is among the countries that send the most tourists to Turkey with 1.5 million people per year, was hosted in Kayseri with the support of TÜROB and the THY Kiev Office, and with Radisson Blu Hotel Kayseri as host.

They go to other countries to ski

Providing information about the project, TÜROB Chairman Timur Bayındır said: "As TÜROB, we are very pleased to have realized the first phase of a project we have been working on for a long time. To achieve our goal of spreading tourism throughout the entire country and reaching the number of quality tourists and the revenue we aim for, we must develop new tourism products and put them at the service of tourism. With their geographical proximity, Kayseri and Cappadocia are among the most important destinations for this goal. A hot-air balloon tour in Cappadocia in the morning and the opportunity to ski in Kayseri at noon on the same day will offer an important experience. Our greatest wish is for this work to provide a lasting product for the country's tourism, along with the promotion of the region." Noting that the number of tourists arriving in this region is insufficient because there are no flights or organized tours from Ukraine, Bayındır said: "However, considering the interest in winter sports in the country, there is potential. The existing potential in the Ukrainian market is currently going to countries such as Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia. With such alternative tourism packages, we can increase the spending share of incoming tourists. Our priority goal will be to launch direct flights between Ukraine and Kayseri."

Ukrainians come mostly to Turkey

Pointing out that more than half of Ukrainian tourists prefer Antalya, Bayındır provided the following information: "In 2017, the number of tourists arriving in our country from Ukraine exceeded 1 million 284 thousand, an increase of 23 percent. Antalya received 713 thousand tourists, an increase of 24 percent, and İstanbul received 305 thousand tourists, an increase of 5 percent. In the first 5 months of this year, this number reached 381 thousand people, an increase of 20 percent. The most popular international destination in the country is Turkey. In Turkey, Ukrainian tourists predominantly prefer the Antalya and İstanbul destinations. The lifting of visas between the two countries, the possibility of traveling with identity documents instead of passports, and the agreements put into effect in the field of aviation are creating significant opportunities in the field of tourism. Tourism professionals point out that Turkey has not been able to provide product diversity in Ukraine apart from summer tourism, and that it has not made significant initiatives in this area. In particular, it is essential to effectively promote our country's advantages in the market in the fields of winter tourism, health tourism and congress tourism, with the ski facilities of Kayseri/Erciyes, Kars/Sarıkamış and Erzurum/Palandöken."

Çelik: We have every kind of opportunity

Mustafa Çelik, Mayor of Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality, who met with the Ukrainian delegation, expressed his great satisfaction with the delegation's visit to Kayseri, saying: "Kayseri, which has been home to many civilizations, has every kind of opportunity for tourism, both with its proximity to Cappadocia and with its position as an important junction point of the Silk Road. The most comprehensive winter tourism center of our country and our neighboring region, which we brought into operation through the investments we made on Mount Erciyes, hosts numerous national and international events in this field. Alongside winter sports, we are confident our guests will appreciate its historical and natural infrastructure."

Two very close destinations

Atakan Altuğ, General Manager of Radisson Blu Hotel Kayseri, who drew attention to the importance of promoting and marketing Kayseri and Cappadocia in international markets with a joint package, said: "We anticipate that the Kayseri/Cappadocia package tour efforts, which present winter and culture tourism programs together, will yield positive returns within a short time. Considering the geographical proximity of Kayseri and Cappadocia, it will be seen that they will complement each other as a tourism product as well."