Press Meeting [29.06.2006]

I would like to thank you for participating the meeting that was organized for sharing the vision of the government’s tourism vision for 2010 and the aims of Second Tourism Attact.

Actually as most of the participants know very well, tourism economy has an important place in Turkish Economy. Tourism is one of the important actor of economic vitality with the other thirty-six sectors which is affected direct or indirect by itself. Tourism Economy has approximately 5 percentage of General Domestic National Product. It brings 10 billion USA Dollars to the economy and provide nearly one and a half million employee of which is about the one to four of the recorded employment. However, everybody and we also know well that a potentialand opportunity of Turkey is very high. In fact, to convert this potential to the goods, the Turkey’s future, investments, employment and income depend on the issue of vision and project. It depends on the issue of believing and edored. Starting from the eve of the election, tourism vision that was made carry a meaning in the AK Party’s decleration, in the government program and in the Emergency Action Plan after the election, has realized up to a concrete level by serious studies approximately in a one year period. Now here a new vision and a new perception that all tourism professionals and Turkey have waited, are going to be shared to be started and realized.

If you let me, I want to end my speech here and I want to present H.E Prime Minister to the stump to share the aims of the Second Tourism Attact period and the 2010 tourism vision of our government that we plan to realize untill 2010.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister
Press Meeting
January 11, 2004, Istanbul

Tourism Vision of Turkey for 2010 and 2nd Action Period

Distinguish Guests,

First of all, I sincerely welcome you.

Today, we are here to share the vision of our government in the field of tourism and program and projects for the periods of 2004-2006 and 2006-2010 in order to realize this vision.

The core of programs and projects presented you is the concept of “vision”.

This concept is far from its real content due to unnecessary use of the concept. On the other hand, this concept is actually vital for Turkey.

Turkey has many problems, but our country has a big potential at the same time.

Our government realizes this big potential, opportunities and facilities offered by this land.

This consciousness, first of all, gives us u big responsibility.

This responsibility is to make our nation take a deserved place in the humanity and to present valuable gains from our civilization to humanity.

We, as the elected representatives of our nation, sincerely believe that the most valuable and authentic contribution to the civilization may rise from our culture and cultural potential.

We also believe the magnificent accumulation of our civilization distillated throughout the centuries will yeast humanity that are looking for new values comprehending the world today by a new and rich content.

Dear Guests,

Due to our perspective of civilization, we do not consider tourism as only an economic concept.

The basic principle of our tourism vision is to present our country, culture and people within the context of its own nature, reality and beauty.

It is not possible and also not right to consider tourism apart from the surrounding cultural values.

Export industry products do generally not express much about Turkey to the consumers.

But, this is not the case for tourism.

Your tourism product is your country, including your people, nature, culture and all the values you have.

That is why; we do not have a concept focused on enterprise and establishment, but we have an approach of tourism focused on environment in the basic of our vision.

We accept the preservation of our cultural heritage, highlighting the magnificent cultural diversity of Turkey as the first priority of our 2010 tourism vision.

By merging of Ministries of Culture and Tourism, our purpose is to establish an institutional infrastructure in order to realize this priority.

Due to this merging, tourism policies have an opportunity to meet with a cultural field that has a value for vision.

The dynamism created by economy of tourism connected with the sensitivity of cultural environment will convert a synergy that will make Turkey unrivalled.

For many years, insensitive administrations had wasted the income from our cultural assets that are open to visit by turning back the problems of the main income sources, such as museums and ruins.

We ended the period of carelessness and irresponsibility by getting rid of despoliation. We started the period of responsible and rational administration.

By now, the income of museums and ruins cannot be spent for the irrelevant works by trading capital. This income will be directly allocated to the assets that belong to humanity heritage.

Dear Friends,

Trading Capital Enterprise, being discharged from all the debt in a short period of time, such as 6 months, has become a service structure that is able to make profit and allocate a 50-miilon-dollar source to the cultural heritage every year.

Without a doubt, these figures are not sufficient considering the numbers of cultural assets in Turkey.

There is a need to enhance the “pie” with new projects, programs and sources.

We took a big step for this purpose.

By amending our Tax Legislation, we give an opportunity to private sector, corporation and individuals to enroll their spending regarding the projects on protecting cultural heritage as expense on their balance sheet. Before the amendment mentioned above, only % 5 of the expenses could be enrolled as expense. Now, it is possible to enroll all of the expenses on the balance sheet.

I would like to ask distinguish press members pay attention to a particular issue.

I believe that many citizens and businessmen are very sensitive to the issue of protecting assets of humanity heritage in our country.

I assume some of our distinguished friends may not know the opportunity offered them and I would like to ask them;

Please, our distinguish businessmen, considering their reputation; do not withhold their generosity in terms of protecting our cultural heritage.

Esteemed Guests,

Turkey is such beautiful country with its great history, natural and cultural assets.

The rich heritage from the civilizations that settled down on this land is one the parts of the beauties that make us loyal to this land with a passionate love.

All of us have a responsibility in order to protect the assets of our country.

This responsibility cannot be attributed only to government and politicians.

The ruins, monuments, inns, caravanserai, mosques that are the heritage of different civilizations, in other terms, this civilization, being our national memory, requires our attention.

I would like to inform you that our government granted an extra 100-trillion- allowance in the year of 2004 as a sign of our sincerity even though we have to consider the balance of the budget.

By this way, with the sources granted by our Ministry, General Directorate of Foundations, and Private Provincial Administration, at least a 300-million-dolar source will be allocated to the projects regarding protection of cultural heritage in 2004.

There is no doubt that we will try to enhance these sources by the next year’s budget.

Considering their reputation, I sincerely hope that our generous businessmen will make a great contribution in this area.

When I dream each of the most powerful 500 companies protect one of the works, I am sure the whole world will applaud us in 3 or 5 years.

Esteemed Friends,

Without a doubt, the greatness of Turkey, as being beyond a claim, belief and concept, can be a product of a vision that is able to carry this claim. The fundamentals of our vision of development are productivity, competition and sustainability.

These principles are essential in a sector, such as tourism, that is open to global competition.

I particularly stress on the principle of sustainability.

There is no doubt that Turkish tourism has been progressing since the very early works of late Özal.

We can consider this period as the first action period and it reached a point that was planned in the conditions of the period. Now, there is a need to start a second action period.

Now, it is time to start the projects with a wide view and determined in order to realize a bigger leap by benefit from the experiences from the first period.

We do not underestimate the importance of three concepts; sea, sand and sun, that are the main characteristics of Turkish tourism. We are aware of the benefits of this product for the time being and for the future of Turkish economy.

We are sure that Turkey, as a tourism country, has a rich and diverse potential that will not be limited only with sun, sand and sea triangle.

We are also aware the necessity of investment and work in order to make a product marketable.

While we are forming our tourism vision, we are taking our main products into account in the view of new trends in the world for further development.

On the other hand, we are working on new projects regarding the investment in the sports related to the dynamics of tourism, such as golf, horsemanship, ski, football and the others.

We are meeting the facilities of our thermal sources with abilities of our entrepreneurs and we are also planning to present a matchless spectrum of products regarding the areas of health and beauty.

We are preparing projects to enhance the tourism mobility that is condensing especially in the shores to inside of Anatolia and the whole country.

As long as we realize the our objective of 15.000 km-double road step by step, the tourism potential of Anatolia will be converted to product, income and employment in a short period of time.

When these roads that 1600 kilometres of were finished in a period less than one year will have been completed, that will provide all around of Turkey with shorter tour lines that is safe, freqent and comfortable.

This double road project is the only way for wakining cultural tours, which is one of the main branch of the tourism that deteriorated around 90’s.

This is not only a service that provides comfort and safety to tourists but also a service that provides Anatolian people new opportunities regarding work, food and customers.

Esteemed Guests...

Another step to develop our tourism is in the field of civil aviation.

We intend to encourage promoters that try to invest, enterprise and take risks to gain assets to themselves and their countries.

As a part of our effort , in the field of civil aviation we eliminated all barriers one by one.

We facilitate the permits, rearranged airports tariffs and we cancelled some special taxes.

As our decisions will be implemented, there wil be a air traffic that is more economical and more safer among several cities in Turkey.

This means an opportunity for a tourist that comes to Turkey for ten days, to spend his time to discover beauties of Anatolia at least in a three days period.

The most valuable thing that we could offer to our guests that we invite to Anatolia beside our unique hospitality will be our historical and cultural assets.

We determine to present our cultural heritage to our guests not as a neglegence but as a pride.

We have preparations in the field of preservation, promotion and development of Turkish Cuisine as an important part of our culture.

I want to tell you a piece of good news; we will open Turkish Cuisine Institute as research and training center in 2004 firstly in İstanbul.

Esteemed Guests...

Another important argument of our 2010 tourism vision is concept of planned development as a part of our sustainable perception.

We all know that especially the preservation of natural environment is vital for sustainable tourism.

Thus we have given up the tourism perception focused on management that interests only capacity and numbers from now on.

In tourism planning, we have been practising a tourism perception and planning approach focused on quality, human and his relations with nature.

Although we stresses on numbers and capacities while especially expressing our targets, we don’t evaluate our tourism in the narrow vision of numbers.

Actually as the sector members know well, we introduced our perception with a study like reform and we proved it.

With the changes made in Tourism Encouragement Law, we completed the infrastructure of our vision of planned development, sustainable and rapid growth.

Although some aren’t aware of this, we know that the members of the tourism sector that expresses us their thanks are the witnesses of this development.

Employees of tourism sector and sector members that earn value to our country with their tourism investments are the witnesses of sensitiviness in this subject. We konw that a strong tourism is depend on a strong sector structuring. Afterwards, Turkish tourism will have a stronger sector structuring. We will rapidly complete the amendments to solve the institutional and juridical problems in the sector.

In this framework, we will put the laws concerning tourism service unions and occupation unions on the agenda of the national assembly.

Dear represantatives of tourism sector, esteemed press members and guests,

In the framework of this vision, ı will present you our strongly believed aims and our projects that will carry us to these targets.

We will realize these projects that I believe, regarded as second tourism action in the Turkish History, in two steps.

First step will cover the period between 2004 and 2006. The second one will cover the period between 2007-2010.

Now I will express these aims in numbers for making them concrete, measurable and to inspect their feasibility.

By 2010, Turkish tourism will have been realized those aims.

Total number of foreign guests will have been reached to 30 million which is approximately twice of todays’ numbers.

As paralell to increasing numbers of guests, as a result of applications in product diversification and enhancement projects total tourism income will be 30 billion$ in one year which is third time as much as today’s.

Of course, it isn’t possible to reach to these numbers with the capacity possibilities of today.

Because of that, first of all in İsatanbul, we will give a priority to marketing, invesment projects and product diversification to make our idle capacities functional that could not increase the productivity sometimes seasonal and sometimes regional reasons.

In addition to this in the framework of the projects that I am going to mention the details of them:

The qualified bed capacity of Turkey will be over 1 million.

This means, till 2010 the bed capacity of Turkey will increase twice.

In other words, If we accept the cost of todays invesment, we could foresight that there will be a new invesment totalled 25 billion$ at least in seven years .

If we consider these invesments in tourism sector and its direct and successive effects on 36 sector that have direct relations with this sector you could appreciate the dimensions of work and the process of employment.

The total amount of employee in accomadation, transportation, catering, entertainment etc. which are regarded as direct issues of tourism sector will have reached 3 million people that means in 7 years 1.5 million employee will be working in this sector.

Esteemed Guests...

May be for some of you, seven years is along time.

Actualy I would want to share our 2023 vision with you because to have realistic vision of our approach, it also should take account the further aims.

It is painful that our people mislead and distracted by others too much so it is impossible to make estimations.

So that I want to record an intermidiate station that we measure and inspect.

Now, I will introduce you my targets that will realized till 2006.

In 2006 total foreign visitor number will reached to 20 million tourist.

In 2006 the income of tourism sector will reached to 18 billion$ intrems of exchange.

And during the three years period by the help of increasing numbers of tourists, new invesments and product diversification new job opportunities will be provided for 500.000 people.

We have to realize these aims and promises that we give our nation.

Anybody that wants could record these numbers and at the end of this period they can ask the results to us.

Esteemed Guests,

Of course it isn’t enough to introduce the aims. The important one is the presence of projects, sources,and work plans that will reach you to these aims

Now I want to share some of our preparations in this subject.

Our Ministry of Culture and Tourism is ready to present all informations-datas on these and their details. So, I want to share some important matters with you in titles without taking your time.

Esteemed Friends,

Our most important and priority project is İstanbul projects.

We all accept that our beautiful İstanbul took less than it deserves.

Only bringing İstanbul to the level it deserved in tourism, means that the half of the mentioned aims are realized.

For this, we have to take pains over İstanbul and give the concern that it deserves.

I carried out projects when I was in İstanbul but I couldn’t reach to Ankara. There wasn’t anybody to consider me.

Thanks to God, I hope our nation would be happy forever, He gave us opportunity to realize our ambition.

Now we have to find the possibilities that we can change this opportunity to blessing.

The most important and priority work in İstanbul is to rescue, preserve and regain the historical peninsula to İstanbul’s people, Turkey and humanity.

While ago I mentioned that we granted an added allowence of 100 trillion. As we consider the sources of Ministry, governership and municipality, General Directorate of Foundations and the opportunities of private sector and international companies this project will not have problem of source for also this year and next years.

The main source for making this historical peninsula a museum city are social motivation and accumulation of information.

Moral assistance of our citizens, scientists, universities and civil society companies that love İstanbul are more valuable than eveything.

Of course that historical peninsula cannot be considered a part from Haliç and Beyoğlu that are historical and natural parts of it. Süleymaniye, Zeyrek, Fener, Balat, all surrounding of Haliç and Beyoglu will form the important parts of our project.

In the context of this project by restorating civil or monumental architectural work of arts with acceptable functions gain to this project with the co-operation of pereserving committee universities, municipality and international companies.

Street healthining project suitable to historical texture will be realised, social texture will never be ignored and we won’t fall into error of transforming it to decor and to a situation that isn’t suited with human nature.

Again recreation and social centres will be realized taht are suitable to cultural texture, a great care will be devoted in commercial and touristic functioning.

Another great news beside the completion of Sütlüce Congress and Culture Center that we started during the period of my Mayority, is that we have a project about historical Feshane Building.

Feshane building will be regained to İstanbul in 2004 as a museum contemporary and permanent exhibition hall and culture center with the perception that is suitable with its cultural identity.

Former Silahtar Switchboard building will also gained as a museum to İstanbul. Camialtı Shipyard, Perşembe and Salı Bazaars regions will also take part in our İstanbul projects.

Salı Bazaar, the buildings taht are used by Maritime Management and Undersecretariat of Customs and warehouses will be gained to İstanbul as a worldwide cultural and tourism center with a new project that will be completed.

Another dimension of this project is to reveal the largest public square of İstanbul in Tophane region that one side of it is reaching to sea. Salı Bazaar is integrated in one side to Galata Tower and its surrounding and from other side to Beyoğlu and Taksim by metro that have been already constructed between Kabataş and Taksim.

Dear Guests, now I will express you our project regarding a region that a lot of people living in İstanbul are not aware of it.

One of the branch of our İstanbul project is Region of Mines and Kilyos coast that are used for minin coal for many years and have damaged environment.

This region, first of all will be handled as an enviroment rescue project by pluging into our local roads and airports then be opened for invesments enhancing with managments like, marines, golf areas, daily managments several sport entertainment, resting, culture and accomadation.

Esteemed friends,

May be now some of you think that I am dreaming. I respect your toughts. But one day you will see that this dream will come true. Believe this.

Esteemed guests,

I want to break of telling our İstanbul project for not taking your time any more and I want to talk about projects of forming new tourism areas.

One of these is, project of Tarsus Tourism region. This project which is also applied to Yumurtalık, İskenderun and Hatay not only for attracting the increasing demand for holiday tourism from West Mediterranean to East but also pilot project to increase demand from Eastern countries. It is an invesment that covers 12.000 bed capacity with diversified products, started this year and will be finished in the begining of 2007 tourism season.

Dalaman tourism centre is another new tourism region that we aim to finish till the end of 2007.

Dalaman Tourism Center as the first example that applied in Turkey by a contemporary planing, financing, management models will be realized with new, contemporary and integrated approach that will be happened in the areas out of first class agriculrural fields and the region mostly belonging to Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in Dalaman.

With the completion of this project, existing capacities in the region which are in idle situation will be regained to Turkish economy as in functional situation becouse they are not suitable for necessities of economy of scale.

The main reason for standing under the desired level, although the Aegean Region has substantial potential of tourism is that large scaled and planned investments which evaluate the region’s capacity properly has not been implemented.

Therefore; right after Dalaman tourism destination project, Cesme and Didim will be introduced to domestic and foreign investments where there will be all sort of tourism activities, especially the health and beauty cares and while these are being realized we will not omit natural and cultural capacity of Cesme and Didim.

Other regions of Turkey, primarily Cappadoccia and GAP regions will take their shares from the projects of improvement in capacity and augmentation of product-variety.

In Cappadoccia Region, new golf, congress center and accommodation projects will be realized again under the concepts of conservation and sustainability.

Diyarbakır, Batman, Gaziantep, Adıyaman, Şanlıurfa, Mardin and their vicinities will have a new concept by cultural-oriented projects that will be started this year, according to the vision of integrated improvements of destinations.

Besides many projects relevant to golf, culture and plateau tourism are being prepared for Black Sea and East Anatolia Regions.

Dear friends, There is no doubt that, we will not disregard Antalya, the generator of Turkish tourism.

Rising the efficiency of capacity usage through plant development and augmentation of product variety is our primary priority for Antalya.

In order to do that, this year, we will start and complete the projects of fresh water, sewer system; solid and liquid waste treatment and deep sea dischargement in Ankara with a budget of over 90 trillion Turkish Liras.

We will save Antalya, the favorite of our tourism, from the unpleasant view, such as garbage dump of Manavgat and Side. In a short period of time nobody will pour water into sea without refining.

The dual carriage between Antalya-Alanya will be completed. The road between Kemer and Antalya will reach the standard of dual carriage except the tunnels by the end of this year. We will start to works regarding the enhancing the standards of road between Finike and Demre and half of the work will be completed.

Organizing the development of Antalya, as a favorite tourism destination, in a controlled and planned way is important for the future of the region.

Considering that it is not possible to give up investments under the pressure of demand, what we need is to administrate the period as a sustainable and controllable one.

Within this context, our Ministry of Culture and Tourism will provide to complete the procedure of new investment area for extra 12.000-bed capacity and for at least seven golf courses.

Esteemed Friends,

I would like to complete my words regarding our preparations that I will be glad to share with you.

We will share these preparations with you and our citizens in other occasions.

By taking this opportunity, I promise to take tourism to a further point from where it is in a short period of time and be sensitive towards the problems of the sector.

Like all Turkey they should believe and trust us.

Thanks to God that we have never abashed the one sthat are trusting us and we will never.

Absolutely in all sectors, Turkey will reach to its bright future that it prepared.

All together we want that toursim will be one of the pioneer power in this progress.

The real face of Turkey will shine brightly with the all colours on the face of humanity.

I am ending my speech with these hope words, I am saluting all of you with love and respect.

Source: http://www.turizm.gov.tr/EN/BelgeGoster.aspx? 17A16AE30572D31371BE64510F6C8BC9322C86428DE90FD3