An information meeting was held on the second day of the "Security for Tourism" event organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for mission representatives of 89 countries and members of the international press.
Speaking at the meeting, Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy stated that Turkey hosted 2020 million visitors in 16 despite the epidemic. Stating that this figure was reached with the Safe Tourism Certificate Program, Minister Ersoy said that the program was implemented in an efficient and disciplined manner.
Reminding that the program was prepared under the leadership of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and with the contributions of the Ministries of Health, Interior, Transport and Infrastructure, in cooperation with industry stakeholders, Minister Ersoy said:
“The scope of the program is accommodation, catering establishments, tour and transfer vehicles, sea tourism facilities, theme parks and ski facilities. The safety and health of passengers is extremely important. At the same time, the measures taken at the facilities, the measures in the transportation vehicles and the safety and health of our employees were among our priorities. Currently, more than 9 thousand 800 facilities and vehicles have been included in the Safe Tourism Certificate Program. "
Stating that all facilities with a capacity of more than 30 beds must obtain the certificate, Minister Ersoy said that 4 thousand 915 accommodation facilities, 1993 restaurants and cafes, 2 thousand 730 vehicles, 12 ski centers, 12 congress centers, 205 sea tourism and 9 stated that the theme park was certified.
Emphasizing that the program was carried out quite transparently, Minister Ersoy stated that the facilities are inspected 2 times, 2 with notice and 4 unannounced, and that all the institutions to accredit are international.
Stating that the Safe Tourism Certificate Program had 136 criteria last year and that they increased these criteria to 171 this year, Minister Ersoy stated that many lessons were learned from Kovid-19 and therefore the number of criteria was increased.
Pointing out that most of the 16 million visitors who came to Turkey last year returned to their countries safely, Minister Ersoy continued his words as follows:
“There was a very low Covid-19 infection rate among these visitors. This information was obtained through the ambassadors. The majority of hotels in Turkey are in Antalya and the Aegean Region. Most of the visitors want to stay in hotels, they do not want to go outside. A very high number of criteria were determined within the scope of the certificate program. In this respect, we can say that the number of cases is very low in Antalya, Dalaman, Bodrum, Aydın and İzmir. I would like to say that the number of cases in these destinations is below the country average. "
"We are Trying to Reduce the Number of Cases per Day to 4 thousand 700"
Providing information about the vaccination program, the Minister noted that the number of those who received the first dose of vaccine so far has reached 15,8 million, and the number of those who have received two doses of vaccine has reached 11,9 million.
Minister Ersoy said, “I would like to say that all our tourism employees will also be vaccinated by the end of May. The Ministry of Health will speed up the vaccination process by June. Within the scope of the protocol signed with the participation of BioNTech-Pfizer last week, 30 million doses of vaccine will enter Turkey in June and 40 million doses in July, so we will have solved this problem by the end of June and mid-July. " said.
Reminding that a complete closure was applied after the partial closure in the middle of April and the number of cases gradually decreased, Minister Ersoy said, “Our aim is to reduce the number of cases to 100 per 43 thousand. As of yesterday, we have 9 cases. The number of cases has decreased by 500 percent. This is an important achievement but not enough. We are trying to reduce the daily number of cases to 88. " he spoke.
Minister Ersoy, referring to the number of cases in tourism cities Antalya, Muğla, Aydın and İzmir, said, “When we talk about Muğla, there is something like this. Muğla is where Turkish citizens buy their villas. If we take this into account, the population should actually be compared with Istanbul. They are registered in Istanbul but live in Muğla. If we calculate the population of Muğla, a different result comes out. " used the expressions.
Stating that they continue with the slogan "Safe Tourism is Now Safer" this year, Minister Ersoy said, “Currently, the number of certified facilities is higher than last year. Our Safe Tourism Program across Turkey will continue after the epidemic. Because the certificate program actually continues to increase its standard in the tourism sector. The industry wants this program to be maintained. " found the assessment.
Presentations were made in the program attended by mission chiefs from 89 countries and foreign guests.
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