Posted by meb at February 28th, 2007

After a long interval, actors in the tourism sector will be able to get together with government officials in Antalya this weekend. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Tourism Minister Atilla Koç will be attending the summit

The government and the tourism sector are preparing to meet after a long interval. A tourism summit to be held in Antalya between March 3 and 4 will provide an opportunity for tourism sector officials and the prime minister to get together to discuss problems.
The sector, which went through a bad season during 2006, is making its final touches to its summit preparations. The government will be represented by a delegation headed by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, accompanied by Tourism Minister Atilla Koç.
Sector leaders have a range of topics to discuss with government officials, especially with Erdoğan. Among the issues to be discussed are problems in the legal infrastructure, problems of foreign labor, copyrights and value added tax (VAT). Sector representatives are planning to ask for support from Erdoğan to solve their existing problems.
The Turkish Tourism Investors Association (TYD), the Turkish Hotels Federation (TÜROFED) and the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB) will each make a presentation during the summit.

German participation:
Infrastructure, future trends, domestic tourism and publicity are the main discussion topics at the summit. Nearly 200 sector representatives are expected to attend the two-day summit. The head of the German Union of Travel Agencies will also make a presentation during the summit.
Head of the Mediterranean Hotels Union (AKTOB) Osman Ayık expressed his surprise over the fact that it was the government who was organizing the event. “Ever since the times of the late Mustafa Taşar’s ministerial term, no such a summit was organized between the tourism sector and the government,” he said.
Underlining the importance of timing of the summit that coincided a period when tourism was undergoing a troubled time and while demand was low, Ayık said work must start now to overcome existing problems. In order to exceed 2006 figures, losses in main markets such as Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium and Britain must be reviewed, according to Ayık. Also, other markets such as Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria and Hungary must be worked on in order to exceed 2005 figures, Ayık added.

Rise in the Netherlands market:
Ayık also commented on the Netherlands market, saying that there was a 25 percent loss in that market last year. But recent figures on reservations and demand showed an increasing demand, Ayık noted. Also in the Belgium market, new reservations showed a rising trend, according to Ayık. There was no increase in the Russian market last year, but this year, an increase was expected, Ayık explained. Also, the Polish, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Czech and Ukrainian markets will help to pull Turkish tourism figures higher, Ayık believed.

Foreign labor:
Besides the major problem of low demand for Turkey, Ayık said they had to deal with several other problems. Especially in the foreign labor issue, Ayık noted, many foreigners were hired for entertainment, health, spa and golf fields. Hiring foreign staff for tourism resorts possessed many problems because of lack of proper laws, Ayık said, adding that they have to hire foreigners under general rules that apply for entertainment sector. Ayık said they have submitted a proposal to the Labor Ministry on this issue and were waiting for a reply.

Source: SEVGİ SAYAR / ISTANBUL – Referans