The Cyprus Turkish Tourism and Travel Agencies Association held its 30th Ordinary General Assembly.
In the board where the Board of Directors, Disciplinary and Supervisory Boards were determined, the activities of the Union and the problems of tourism in general were discussed.
At the General Assembly in the Chamber of Industry, the presidency council was formed and a moment of silence was held for Atatürk and martyrs.
Then Union President Orhan Tolun made a speech.
In his speech, Tolun stated that although two years were difficult due to the events in Turkey, they overcame these difficulties with the measures taken.
Tolun stated that there was an increase in the number of tourists and the occupancy rate of hotels in 2016-2017.
Touching on the problems experienced and the work they have done, Orhan Tolun stated that they are experiencing the problems of not being able to have a guide in every vehicle in tours and transfers, and that the increase in airplane prices has also negatively affected the agencies.
Tolun said, “Illegal tours and illegal agencies have emerged. We had a lot of trouble in terms of guidance. Even though there are 230 guides who are members of KTREB, we had a problem in terms of the number of guides because they also work in different jobs. For this reason, we opened a guidance course. We have seen that airplane prices have increased and we have created a crisis desk. We demanded that incentives be given to increase sea voyages. The fact that Ercan airport is still not built negatively affects the sector.”.
Stating that they are working on OTEM and that it can be put into service after a month, Tolun said that they are preparing a new project for the construction of the KITSAB building, that they have not increased the prices of museums and archaeological sites and that they participate in all kinds of meetings related to the environment.
At the end of his speech, Orhan Tolun emphasized the importance of making tourism a state policy and establishing a tourism organization.
At the General Assembly, the messages were then read and the speeches of the guests began.
Cemal Özyiğit, President of the Socialist Democracy Party, asked how much importance is given to the tourism sector, which is called the backbone of the economy.
Özyiğit pointed out that in order for this country to become a center of attraction, the nature of its mountains and stones should be marketed and alternative tourism options such as faith tourism should be prioritized.
Fethi Özboğaç, President of the Cyprus Turkish Hoteliers Association, said that all stakeholders related to tourism should gather under one roof and protect the future.
In his speech, Ahmet Savaşan, President of the Health Tourism Council, shared a statistic from the world and said that while the number of people traveling in the world was 25 million in 1950, this number increased to 1,235 million in 2016 and stated that world tourism is chasing tourism revenues.
“We need to hug the tourism sector, which is the future of our country, more,” Savaşan said.
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Tourism İsmet Esenyel emphasized that there has been a positive momentum in tourism and said that they are doing their best to carry this forward.
Tourism revenues are on the rise, hotel occupancy rates are on the rise, and the number of overnight stays is very close to the expected target for the first time. The money spent by the guests coming to the country is increasing and there is an increase in the number of passengers arriving. I think we will reach 1 million by the end of the year. The momentum we have achieved in tourism at the moment is a positive momentum.”.
Esenyel said that work was also being done on the creation of a tourism organization law and that this issue was discussed with the tourism sub-committees.
Following the speeches, the activity, financial and audit reports were read and acquitted.
Afterwards, elections were held for the Board of Directors, Disciplinary and Supervisory Boards.
http://www.kibrispostasi.com/kitsab-30-olagan-genel-kurulu-yapildi-28102017