Panel on "2023 Targets and Turkish Tourism: Public-Private Sector Cooperation" Held

Under the theme of the future of tourism, one of Türkiye's largest and fastest-growing sectors, Bahçeşehir University (BAU) held a panel titled  "2023 Targets and Turkish Tourism: Public-Private Sector Cooperation." The panel's moderator, Dean of the BAU Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences Prof. Dr. İpek Altınbaşak Farina, said, "The rise of the tourism sector will open up great opportunities for young people."

At the panel held at the BAU Beşiktaş Campus, İrfan ÖNAL, Director General of Promotion at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye; Müberra ERESİN, Vice Chair of TUROB; Davut GÜNAYDIN, Member of the TÜRSAB Board of Directors; and Prof. Dr. İpek ALTINBAŞAK FARİNA, Dean of the BAU Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences, shared with participants both the place of the tourism sector in the world economy and the potential it holds for young people.

New Job Opportunities Will Arise for Students

Delivering the opening speech and moderating the meeting, Prof. Dr. İpek ALTINBAŞAK FARİNA emphasized the place and importance of the tourism sector in the world economy, saying: "Tourism, a worldwide export category, ranks third after chemicals and fuel exports, ahead of the automotive and food sectors. When projections for 2020 and 2030 are examined in light of the data we have, the shares of Africa, Asia-Pacific and, most importantly, the Middle East in the global pie are expected to increase. Worldwide, the number of international tourists is expected to increase by an average of 3.3 percent per year in the 2010-2030 period. In light of these results, the place in the world economy of this very important sector, which can provide our young people with various job and investment opportunities, is enormous."

In his speech, İrfan ÖNAL, Director General of Promotion at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, shared the changes made in the promotion of Türkiye over the last 4.5 years, as well as the new vision, strategies and positive practices, saying: "Türkiye has made up for last year's loss and has moved to a third phase in promotion with the 3rd Tourism Council. Our target for 2023 is 50 million tourists and 50 billion US dollars."

Müberra Eresin, Vice Chair of the Turkish Hoteliers Federation, noted the importance of bringing young people into the sector within the framework of career planning in the profession and the Public-Private Sector Cooperation plan, and provided information about their joint work with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye.

Finally, Davut Günaydın, Member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, touched on the contributions of TÜRSAB, one of the world's largest travel associations, to Turkish tourism through its many active committees, and stated that they had left a difficult period behind with public support in this field.