TÜROB President Müberra Eresin addressed the chronic problems affecting İstanbul tourism during the "İstanbul Tourism Meeting" organized by the Istanbul Tourism Platform of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
Eresin emphasized the importance of sustainability and effective marketing of destinations in the increasingly competitive environment. She stated that Istanbul's hotels host visitors from all over the world in various fields such as cultural tourism, MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) tourism, and gastronomy tourism. Therefore, developing and integrating destination management and sustainability concepts, especially in İstanbul and across the entire country, is of great significance for the development of the tourism sector.
Eresin pointed out that the daily accommodation fees in hotels reflect the overall value of the destination, emphasizing that the comfort provided by the hotel should be extended to the destination itself. The satisfaction of guests with the destination directly affects their spending within the destination.
However, Eresin also highlighted several chronic problems negatively impacting tourism in İstanbul, such as the long-standing taxi problem, as well as issues related to security, safety, scams, and theft. She expressed concern that these issues do not reflect the hospitality for which Türkiye is known and may harm the tourism experience.
Furthermore, Eresin mentioned that due to unregistered and informal health tourism providers, there have been cases of fatalities among tourists seeking medical treatments in Türkiye, leading the British government to issue warnings against traveling to Türkiye for health tourism.
In light of these issues, Eresin stressed the importance of improving Istanbul's tourism sector, addressing urgent consumer problems, increasing the budget for the İstanbul Tourism Platform, and having the platform's director report directly to the Mayor of Istanbul to enhance the city's international promotion.
