Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Tunç SoyerAs a result of the intense efforts of , the first cruise ship arrived in Izmir Port today after a break of 6 years. President Soyer, who got on the ship and gave flowers to the captain, said, “It is a meeting that we have been waiting for a long time. We've worked hard to get the cruise ships here. This is the first. There will be 34 more times,” he said.
Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Tunç Soyer's studies for the development of the tourism potential of the city continue. The first of the cruise lines that will revive the city's economy docked at Izmir Port today. Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor welcomed the first tourists who came to the city by cruise after a break of 6 years. Tunç Soyer, İzmir Deputy Governor Hikmet Dengeşik and İzmir Chamber of Commerce President Mahmut Özgener welcomed him. Boarding the ship, President Soyer gave flowers to captain Maroje Brajcic.
“The long awaited meeting”
İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor, who said that it was a very exciting day. Tunç Soyer“It is a meeting we have been waiting for for a long time. Cruise tourism has become a growing sector that has gained even more prestige in the world, especially after the pandemic. It is our greatest desire that İzmir also gets its share from this. Before the pandemic, we had many meetings with cruise companies in Italy. And in fact, we would have started much earlier if it weren't for the pandemic. Unfortunately, we had to wait for the pandemic. Now, we go on from where we left. I am sure that we will have the opportunity to host a much larger number of cruise guests in İzmir. I wish everyone good luck,” he said.
“We worked hard”
Expressing that 34 ships will come to Izmir this year, the President Tunç Soyer“This is the smallest ship that comes first. He came to Izmir on a 6-month world tour. There's a lot of work involved in this. We went through a very intense process with the Izmir Chamber of Commerce and Izmir Development Agency to bring the cruise ships here. This is the first. There will be 34 more trips. "The big ship will arrive on May 3," he said.
In the first stage, the target is 4,5 million tourists.
Noting that İzmir has not taken the place it deserves in the tourism sector, President Soyer said: “Our goal, as the İzmir Foundation, in the short term is to reach a tourist ratio as much as İzmir's population. We are capable of so much more. But it will be step by step. Cruise tourism is one of the most important topics in this. We are carrying out many studies to revive tourism. Visit İzmir became Turkey's first digital encyclopedia. We launched the directizmir.com website, which promotes direct flights from Izmir to the world and from the world to Izmir. There are direct flights from Izmir to 23 domestic and 48 international destinations. The whole point is that İzmir unites its power and succeeds in acting together in these areas.”
“Our aim is to increase these expeditions intensively and permanently”
İzmir Chamber of Commerce President Mahmut Özgener stated that there are big targets related to tourism in İzmir's future and said, “We are working to reach these targets with the love of İzmir. A tourist group came to visit 6 countries in 60 continents. This is important for the future of İzmir. We have important works to increase cruise voyages," he said.
Open-top tour buses allocated
The customs area in the port was renewed with İzmir visuals created by İzmir Foundation and reflecting İzmir's urban identity. Images prepared for tourists to explore the city with the “Visit İzmir” application were placed inside and outside the port. In the Tourism Information Office located in the customs area, tourists are guided by the expert staff of the Tourism Branch Directorate, briefings about the historical city center and brochures are distributed.
Izmir Metropolitan Municipality also allocated open-top tour buses for tourists. Tourists also have the opportunity to access the Kordon tour with the nostalgic tram. In addition, the tourism police teams and the tourists' safe travel opportunities in the city were increased.
will go to Istanbul
The ship belonging to Oceania Cruises, which departed from Miami on 23 March, berthed in Izmir after stopping by Morocco, Spain, Italy, Malta and Israel. The ship will leave Izmir at 18.00 today and go to Istanbul.
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