Good news: Is a tram coming to Alanya?
An Arama Meeting with Alanya Hotels was held in cooperation with ALTAV, ALTİD, ALTSO, and TURSAB. During the meeting, Mayor Osman Tarık Özçelik stated that they aim to improve the quality of Alanya and shared the plans for tourism activities in the coming years.
The meeting, held at the Kaila Beach Hotel, was attended by: District Governor Fatih Ürkmezer, Mayor Osman Tarık Özçelik, Rector of Alanya University Prof. Dr. Mehmet Yazıcı, Vice Rector of Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University Prof. Dr. Mehmet Akın, Mayor’s Advisor and Vice President of ALTAV Abdurrahman Açıkalın, Deputy Commander of Antalya Provincial Gendarmerie Colonel Engin Burak Mindivanlı, District Gendarmerie Commander Major Hüseyin Direk, District Police Chief Murat Kenan Patat, Chairman of Alanya Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ALTSO) Eray Erdem, President of Alanya Tourism Investors Association (ALTİD) Burhan Sili, President of Alanya City Council Nurhan Özcan, District National Education Director Yusuf Yılmaz, hoteliers, tourism business owners, tourism association presidents, and representatives from various institutions and organizations.
AÇIKALIN PRESENTED PROJECTS RELATED TO SPORTS TOURISM
After a moment of silence and the national anthem, the opening speech of the program was given by ALTİD President Burhan Sili. Then, ALTAV Board Member Gökçe Aydoğan Ergün shared the preparations for the upcoming season with the participants. Mayor's Advisor Abdurrahman Açıkalın presented projects related to sports tourism and introduced them to the tourism professionals. He also shared his impressions from the Travel Fair held in London and the agreements made there. ALTSO President Eray Erdem also spoke about the necessary actions in tourism and the city's problems.
MAYOR ÖZÇELİK: "WE WILL SOLVE THE TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM IN THE CITY CENTER WITH A TRAMWAY"
Mayor Osman Tarık Özçelik addressed the tourism professionals at the meeting, saying, “In my opinion, the most important purpose and outcome of this meeting is to explain how I, Osman Tarık Özçelik, view tourism after becoming mayor on April 1, how I look at tourism in the city, and how we, together with council members and vice mayors, plan to work on it. It is very important for us to tell you about our vision and approach, about what we want for the future of Alanya. The two main sources of income for Alanya are agriculture and tourism. If there is tourism, agriculture will thrive; if there is tourism, the income of those who earn from agriculture, such as our relatives who grow tomatoes, will also increase. Alanya has nearly 170,000 beds, and people working with you and our rural relatives growing tomatoes are also earning money. One of the most important problems we identified with our colleagues is transportation. We have a plan for transportation. Hopefully, during our term, we will manage to cross Atatürk Street from one end to the other with a tramway, which will help ease the traffic congestion in the city center".
MAYOR ÖZÇELİK: WE WILL BEGIN MOVING TO THE NEW MUNICIPAL SERVICE BUILDING IN DECEMBER
Mayor Özçelik emphasized that they are re-planning the city, saying, “In the areas we call the old police station, we hope to start work within a year or two. I can already say that we will fix the existing problems with the construction. We will start moving to our new municipal service building in December, and we will likely hold our first council meeting there in January. We want to demolish the extension in the current building and, within the framework of a national competition, implement a new project to shape Alanya. We want our guests to return home and say, ‘Alanya has changed so much, so many good things have been done,’ and for those visiting for the first time to say, ‘Alanya is so beautiful.’ We will raise the quality of Alanya. This is my goal, and we seek your support to achieve it. My management style is to work with colleagues who are experts in their fields and who know how to do things the best. Perhaps for the first time in history, we are managing Alanya with seven people.”
MAYOR ÖZÇELİK: "WE MUST INSTILL THE IDEA OF VISITING ALANYA IN PEOPLE'S MINDS"
The mayor also pointed out that everyone had been talking about developing winter tourism so far, saying, “Now, to move beyond words, we are preparing projects for winter tourism. We are energizing the winter season in Alanya. Official procedures for these projects will start on Monday. We are beginning official talks about projects for Milli Egemenlik Stadium, the sports area in Okurcalar, and Galip Dere Beach. We continue our consultations with the metropolitan municipality and are taking significant steps to solve problems like wastewater treatment. As the Municipality of Alanya, we will implement everything we have planned starting January 1st. Our inspectors will start working in their renewed form from January 1st. At least once a month, an inspector will visit a bakery, not to issue fines, but to ensure the place is clean and organized. We are also continuing our talks about public transportation. We are in discussions about transporting tourists from hotels in the western part of the city to the city center. Of course, our goals cannot be achieved in 1-2 years, but we need to instill the idea of visiting Alanya in people's minds. I am not concerned with the past; I look forward, and this year we finally said, ‘We are Alanya.’ We participated in fairs, and believe me, it had a great impact".
