TTI Izmir International Tourism Trade Fair and Congress, TTI Outdoor 3rd Camping, Caravan, Boat, Outdoor and Equipment Fair and TTI Health 1st Health Tourism Fair bring together guests from all over the world in Izmir.
Within the scope of TTI İzmir, “Holiday Destinations Panel in Sea Transportation” was organized in cooperation with İZFAŞ and İZDENİZ.
Representatives of the sector that carries out passenger transportation between the Aegean coasts and the Greek islands said that following the bilateral meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Greek Prime Minister Kiryakos Mitsotakis, the announcement that 7-day tourist visas will be provided to Turkish citizens on the Greek islands will increase the frequency of flights and the number of passengers between both coasts.
“Holiday Destinations Panel in Sea Transportation” with the participation of sector representatives at the 17th TTI Izmir International Tourism Trade Fair and Congress, organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Commerce, hosted by Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, with the support of TÜRSAB, and in partnership with İZFAŞ and TÜRSAB Fuarcılık. was carried out. Turyol Chairman of the Board of Directors Yunus Can, İZDENİZ A.Ş. attended the panel moderated by Yusuf Öztürk, Chairman of İMEAK Chamber of Shipping Izmir Branch. Chairman of the Board of Directors Osman Hakan Erşen, İDO İstanbul Deniz Bus A.Ş. General Manager Murat Orhan, MSC Business Development Coordinator & Cisalpina Turizm General Manager Fatih Gider, TÜRSAB Board Member Engin Ceylan attended.
20 percent of tourism income comes from sea tourism
IMEAK WTO Izmir Branch President Yusuf Öztürk said that after the meeting of the leaders of the two countries, they welcomed the neighboring country’s provision of a 7-day tourist visa facility for Turkish citizens on the Greek islands, apart from the Schengen visa. Stating that this facility will increase the number of passengers in the Aegean Sea and enable existing sea lines to operate more efficiently, Öztürk said, “Good luck. 20 percent of our country’s tourism revenues come from the sea. Our marine tourism sector is very important. They act as peace ambassadors on both sides of the Aegean. “We now need to think about how we can go to more distant destinations in the Aegean and how we can turn the Eastern Mediterranean into a Turkish lake,” he said.
It’s time for more distant destinations
Yunus Can, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Turyol, which carries passengers from Ayvalık and Çeşme to the Greek islands, said that the visa convenience was due to the pressure of those living on the Greek islands rather than Turkish citizens. Can said, “We have become the fundamental element of the economic development of the Greek islands.” Explaining that as Turyol, they made 366 trips between both coasts this year and reached 120 thousand passengers, Can said, “This is still not enough. We must find new destinations like Crete. “We should even develop passenger transportation between our own tourism centers,” he said.
Good news for the second ship to Lesbos
İZDENİZ A.Ş. Chairman of the Board of Directors, Osman Hakan Erşen, said that they carried three times more passengers on the Izmir and Lesbos line compared to the previous year. Stating that municipalities have shown that they can do this job without competing with anyone, Erşen said, “We are ambitious for the next year. We will enter with two ships. In addition to the İhsan Alyanak ship, we will also prepare the Aziz Sancar ship for the voyage. “Visa application at the door will also be very helpful,” he said.
Stating that Greek transporters working between Greek islands receive incentives from the European Union, Erşen said, “We do the math 80 times while trying to go to Lesbos. We are not a European Union country, but we do transportation with Europe. Why aren’t we given incentives? he said. Stating that trips to the Greek islands can be organized from Izmir districts Dikili, Aliağa, Foça and Karaburun, Erşen said, “After the exit gates are built, if there is a demand from there, we, as İZDENİZ, will go there with pleasure.”
Seferihisar-Samos starts in April
İDO General Manager Murat Orhan also said that they will start flights from Seferihisar to Samos in April 2024, in line with the new developments in the visa issue, as Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer gave the good news at the opening of the fair. Stating that they signed a contract with Teos Marina and that negotiations with the Ministry of Transport and the Greek side are continuing, Orhan explained that their goal is to operate on three lines. Orhan said that the expeditions they launched from Hatay and Mersin to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus inspired them for the Greek islands as well.
Let it be a ship, we will fill it
TÜRSAB Board Member Engin Ceylan stated that they could not find a seat on the Çeşme-Sakız line even without visa facilitation, and said that there would be a great increase in the number of passengers with visa facilitation. Ceylan said, “We are realizing the Maldives of the Aegean. Greek islands have very serious potential. We need new means of transportation to the islands. “All our agencies have the potential to fill these ships quickly,” he said.
26 trips from MSC to Izmir
MSC Business Development Coordinator and Cisalpina Tourism General Manager Fatih Gider said, “2022 has been the year of recovery. As of 2018, we started to come to Turkey again as MSC Cruise. Last year, we made 30 trips, mainly to Kuşadası. But 2023 was a year when the lines gathered all their power and entered the ports quickly. This year we increased the number of trips to 90. We brought 250 thousand tourists. We went one step further than our plans. Our plan for 2024 is to voyage to Bodrum with the MSC Opera Ship and 26 voyages to Izmir with the MSC Divina Ship. Kuşadası is a must. “Istanbul is always in our program,” he said.
The opinions expressed herein are the author’s and not necessarily those of News2Sea.
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