Anatolian cities, towns and resorts are taking part in the EMITT 2010 exhibition to draw the attention of tourism investors and professionals. Hacer Aydın, General Director of Ekin Fair Organisation, the organiser of EMITT, explains, “EMITT is seen as a great opportunity for investors and operators to make their tourist attraction stand out from the crowd.”EMITT 2010, one of the world’s top ten travel events and a valuable resource for many countries, opens its gates for the 14th time this year. The tourism industry has the ability to stimulate 54 different industries and reignite the economy. With that in mind, 50 countries and more than 100 cities and resorts from Turkey will be participating in the EMITT 2010 exhibition.
Keen to make their mark in the growing tourism market, the cities of Anatolia are showing an increasing interest in the EMITT exhibition, where local and international representatives of the travel industry come together.
Hacer Aydın, Genearl Director of Ekin Fair Organisation General Director, the organiser of EMITT, confirms that these cities, towns and resorts are particularly encouraged by the interest they attracted in previous EMITT exhibitions and adds, “That’s the reason why public administrators regard EMITT exhibition as a very prominent opportunity to attract investors and entrepreneurs to their regions.”
Aydın also states that, in the past, tourism investments had focused and been limited to specific regions in Turkey, whereas today, accommodation investments have shifted to Anatolian regions, which is proved by the number of cities that have received investment incentive certificates. This means a change Turkey’s tourism investment map. Aydın is proud to see many cities, towns and regions take a great interest in EMITT and she comments, “After the fair, almost every participant claims that investments and operations in their regions have been greatly increased. This explains the conviction that increasing tourism traffic leads to new investment opportunities.”
Aydın remarks that the study they made on future tourism projects, indicates that regions that have taken part in EMITT for the last two years have attracted particular attention in this respect. She says, “The Ekin Group Research Centre studied cities that had received investment incentive certificates by the Undersecretariat of the Treasury and found that, out of 115 projects, more than 60 targeted Anatolian cities and almost all of these cities had appeared at EMITT. These cities include Trabzon, Denizli, Çanakkale, Urfa, Mardin, Gaziantep, Samsun, Yozgat, Çorum and Sivas. Meanwhile, the same research shows that the cities requiring hotel investments are Konya, Edirne, Samsun, Adana, Bursa and Eskişehir, all of which regularly take part in EMITT.”
Similarly, the regions that aim to have a strong presence at EMITT seem to be the ones that plan tourism investments. These are Eskişehir, Gaziantep, Trabzon, Kayseri, Bursa and İzmit where Accor Group, of French origin, and Akfen announced 50 projects. The investments to be made by Hilton with Kosifler Group involve Gaziantep, Mardin, Kütahya, Eskişehir, Şanlıurfa, Konya, Aksaray, Nevşehir and İskenderun. Also, Hilton and Amplio Hotel Investments has a number of projects in many cities such as Gaziantep, Manisa, Diyarbakır, Gebze, Kocaeli, Konya, Kayseri, Samsun, Trabzon, Rize, Manisa, Aydın, Adana and Bursa.
The regions where Dedeman plans to invest seem to be areas that particularly stand out at the EMITT exhibition. Dedeman is known to have interest in Zonguldak and Yozgat in the short term, whereas Divan Hotel Group (Koç Holding) includes Gaziantep, Çorlu, Adana and Eskişehir in its programme.
Anyone who wishes to take part in EMITT 2010, taking place on 11-14 February at TÜYAP Congress and Convention Center, can receive free online tickets by visiting www.fuardavetiyesi.com. Detailed information about the EMITT 2010 exhibition can be obtained at www.emittistanbul.com.
