TBy - S&M Publication ltd

NEWS LINE TURKEY INCENTIVE MAGAZINE
2007, Russian Culture Year in Turkey
Culture and Tourism Minister
Atilla Koç announced that 2007
would be Russian Culture Year,
and said that the aim of his
ministry was to successfuly
promote the cultural field as
much as the tourism sector.
To this end, it has been decided
that 2008 would be Turkish
Culture Year in Russia. Koç
said that the interaction in the
cultural field between the countries will also help to strengthen relations.
Russia's Culture and Mass Communications Minister Aleksandr
Sergeyeviç Sokolov said it was very important for his country that Turkey
would organize Russian Culture Year activities. Sokolov visited Turkey two
weeks agp for the declaration of 2007 as the Russian Culture Year in
Turkey. Sokolov reported the basic principles of activities to be held in 2008,
the “Year of Turkey” in Russia, had been determined and a concrete program
would be clear before the end of 2007. However, throughout 2007 the
Russian Culture Year will be celebrated with various activities in many
cities like Ankara, Istanbul , Izmir, Trabzon and Manisa. Noting that the
declaration of 2007 as “Russian Culture Year” in Turkey had positive repercussions
in Russia, Sokolov explained what Russian people expect from the
“Year of Turkey” in 2008: “This is a very important event for our country.
Russian people already know that a country, which organizes such an activity,
will bring together the best artists , that's why there is a lot of interest
in the activities.” The protocol for the Turkish Culture Year will be signed on
April 12.
Turkey's Promotion Film on CNN and BBC
Turkey's new promotion film has started to
be broadcast on world-wide known TV
channels CNN International and BBC
World. "We will focus on the utilization of
international media, as well as Turkey's
promotion in international organizations
this year," officials of the Turkish Ministry
of Culture and Tourism noted. In this
framework, the promotion film started to
be broadcast on BBC World from the
beginning of January. The channel will show both the 60-second and 30second
versions of the film for 504 times throughout 12 weeks. On the other
hand, the film will start to be shown on CNN International's broadcasts in
Europe, Africa and Middle East this month. CNN Domestic, a TV channel
that broadcasts in USA, will also display a 40-second version of the film.
The film will be shown on CNN 693 times till the end of May. Turkey's promotion
film can also be watched at the Turkish Ministry of Culture and
Tourism's website, sources said.
Love of Continents in Istanbul
Turkish Ministry of Culture & Tourism will promote Istanbul as the "Love of
Continents", said ministry executives. A romantic film will be shot with the
contributions of the ministry to promote Istanbul, and be shown in the
countries where Turkey runs a promotion campaign including Britain and
the United States. In the film, two lovers will pass through historical and
cultural heritage of Turkey and meet on the Istanbul Strait (Bosphorus).
According to the executives, meeting of two lovers on the Bosphorus Bridge
represents the conjugation of East and West. The executives underlined
importance of meeting of the lovers over the hands of a bishop and the
whirling dervishes, and noted that this emphasizes the tolerance and motto
of Mevlana. Meanwhile, a royal boat from the Ottoman era, ancient city of
Ephesus, remains on Nemrut Mountain, Trojan horse, Hittite Sun, a clergyman
from the Byzantine era and a janissary are some of the historical heritage
highlighted in the promotion film.
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APRIL’07
Turkey in Bid to Become World's Thermal Tourism Spot
Turkey is set to become a thermal
tourism destination as a
result of a thermal tourism master
plan by Culture and Tourism
Ministry. The project aims to
highlight Turkey as a major
health and thermal destination
of world by 2023. Senol Aydemir
of the ministry said a thermal
tourism master plan was prepared
as part of “Turkey Tourism
Strategy 2023.” “The ancient
regions of Troy, Phrygia and
Aphrodisias are among the regions planned to be thermal destinations.
Regional tourism potential will be strengthened and developed in these
spots,” he said, adding, “In these regions, alternative tourism facilities
including thermal institutions in particular, golf, nature sports and water
sports, will be developed.” “The aged population in Europe, our target market,
has increased. If we attract this population to Turkey, thermal tourism
in Turkey can span over 12 months. Thermal tourism provides constant
employment and there is also a high demand for it internal tourism as
well,” he noted.
Thermal tourism regions:
Overall 25 tourism destinations in four regions were identified as thermal
and culture tourism development destinations as part of the master plan
according to which Southern Aegean thermal tourism region include Aydin,
Denizli, Izmir and Manisa; Southern Marmara thermal tourism region covers
Balikesir, Çanakkale and Yalova; Phrygia thermal tourism region
Ayfonkarahisar, Ankara, Eskisehir, Kütahya and Usak; and the Central
Anatolia thermal tourism region Aksaray, Kirsehir, Nevsehir, Nigde and
Yozgat. These provinces were identified due to the fact that they aren't only
promising spots in terms of their thermal sources but also for their cultural
and natural assets as an easily accessible centers. The master plan has
two legs and at first works will be carried out to determine the geothermal
features and tourism resources of the thermal centers as well as develop
their tourism potential and technical infrastructure. The ancient and
underground cities as well as historical and natural treasures nearby will
also be utilized for tourism. Some alternative 14-day tour programs have
been prepared for tourists who come to these tourism centers in order to
enable them to spend their free time in the best way. Second step will be
for reconstruction development plans and details of investments.
Short, medium and long term plans:
The master plan anticipates Turkey to be a major health and thermal
tourism destination in the world by 2023. The ministry has short, medium
and long term plans in this sense and a 50,000 bed capacity is planned to
serve between 2007-2012 in short term while 100,000 bed capacity between
2012-2017 in medium term and 500,000 between 2017-2023 in long run. A
thermal tourism council consisting of universities, nongovernmental
organizations as well as institutions operating in the field of thermal
tourism will also be established in implementation of master plan.
Thermal-oriented fairs and workshops are scheduled in Europe, Middle
East, Black Sea and Scandinavia . Turkey ranks seventh in world and first
in Europe in terms of geothermal potential. Stretching over an important
geothermal zone, Turkey is home to more than 1,500 geothermal
resources with chemically rich thermal waters. Many spas have been built
in Anatolia since the ancient ages with the discovery of healing qualities of
natural thermal waters. The historical and cultural assets used to exist
nearby these thermal sources, which thus highlights Turkey as an important
spot for health tourism as well as culture and sea-sand-sun tourism.
The need for thermal treatment increases for Europe, Turkey 's target
market in thermal tourism, due to the aged population of Europe . There is
an intensive demand for thermal treatment especially from Northern
Europe and Scandinavian countries where rheumatism-related disorders
are common due to the climate conditions.