Turkey’s tourism industry showcases at WTM 2008
Posted by meb at November 10th, 2008
Turkey is participating in the World Travel Market (WTM) 2008, which takes place at the ExCeL exhibition and conference center in London from Nov. 10-13, 2008, with over 48,000 exhibitors registered from over 200 countries.
“Nearly 40 Turkish tourism companies have applied to participate in the international tourism fair in the United Kingdom,” the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in a statement last week. The ministry will promote Turkey’s most popular tourism destinations at the fair, allocating a special place to İstanbul, which has been designated a European Capital of Culture for 2010. Turkey’s booth is located in the European section this year, numbered EM120 and located very close to gate N4.
The exhibit comes at a crucial moment not only for Turkey, but all other countries as well, due to the financial crisis impacting almost every economy in the world. While some businesses in Turkey that have debt in foreign currency are at risk due to the rising US dollar, the tourism industry is positioning itself to benefit from the exchange rate since payments are received in foreign currencies. The sector is valued at approximately $20 billion today. The Turkish lira has lost nearly 30 percent against average euro-dollar basket prices over the past month because of increased demand from foreign investors during the current global financial crisis.
To highlight the importance Turkey attaches to WTM 2008, the minister of culture and tourism, Ertuğrul Günay, will attend the exhibition and speak with the participating tour operators. He will speak at a press conference there also. Turkish companies’ booths will take up about 730 square meters at the fair, and Turkey will also be promoted in posters to be hung in Piccadilly Square in London, at airports, in taxis and at the conference center, as well as in the fair’s official booklet and on its Web site.
Amid the global financial crisis, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is launching a new strategy for 2009, aimed specifically at benefiting Turkish tourism. The ministry hopes to turn the economic downturn into an opportunity for hoteliers and destination managers in Turkey by initiating a campaign blitz, officials told Today’s Zaman.
Speaking at a press conference last month regarding Turkey’s advertising campaign for 2009, Günay said Turkey’s tourism industry can overcome the effects of the global economic crisis if it offers reasonable prices and a well-organized promotion policy. He also predicted that the economic crisis, which emerged at the beginning of 2008, will end before the tourism season of 2009 begins.
“Despite the crisis, people around the world will continue to visit tourist destinations. European tourists in particular are likely to choose closer destinations, like Turkey, instead of more remote places, such as the Far East, China and Japan,” he said. “Turkey can turn the crisis into an opportunity if it promotes itself well internationally and adopts a reasonable price policy.” He also noted there had been no drop in hotel reservations for 2009.
Günay said Turkey would focus in 2009 on destination-oriented advertising and promotional campaigns that aim to make Turkey a brand in tourism. In addition to sea and sun tourism, he stressed, Turkey could diversify its tourism by highlighting faith tourism, winter sports, health and thermal spas, opportunities for meetings and conferences, sailing and Turkish cuisine and hospitality. The promotional campaigns will also highlight the Turkish treasures of İstanbul, Antalya and Cappadocia as destinations for international travelers in 2009. The ministry will also target tourists from America, Europe, the Middle East and the Far East through international campaigns.
Turkey is targeting a 10 percent increase in the number of tourists visiting the country next year and hopes to achieve at least a 12 percent increase in tourism revenue. According to data provided by the ministry, Turkey attracted 18.5 million tourists in the first eight months of 2008, a 15 percent increase in the number of tourists from 2007. That number is expected to exceed 25 million by the end of the year. The figures also show that Antalya drew over 8 million tourists in the first nine months of 2008, while 5.5 million tourists visited Istanbul and 2.7 million visited Muğla province during the same period.
Günay said they had held events in Switzerland, Spain, Germany, America, Austria and China to promote Turkey, with a “Turkish Days” experience to take place in France in 2009. Turkey also places great emphasis on WTM 2008 in London. Staged annually in London, the WTM is a must-attend business-to-business exhibition that provides a unique opportunity for the global travel industry to meet, network, negotiate and conduct business. Last year 48,111 travel industry professionals attended the fair, which also attracted about 24,000 visitors.
The exhibition will also host discussions from senior industry figures debating a variety of questions surrounding tourism, ranging from more general issues, such as airlines, to concerns of specific sectors, such as medical tourism and vacations for blind and visually impaired travelers.
source: Today’s Zaman
Related posts: