Antalya Governor Hulusi Şahin stated that he was saddened by the city's absence from the UNESCO World Heritage List, and said, "A file needs to be prepared and effort needs to be made on this issue, we are currently working on Kaleiçi."

The season opening within the scope of 'Tourism Week' was held at Hadrian's Gate in the historical Kaleiçi, the tourism capital of Türkiye, Antalya. Governor Hulusi Şahin, Metropolitan Mayor Muhittin Böcek, AKTOB President Kaan Kavaloğlu and sector representatives attended the meeting. Stating that Antalya experiences tourism for 12 months, Governor Hulusi Şahin said, "The 2025 tourism season has started well for Antalya. The indicators are also extremely good. Last year was a record year. I believe that this year will be another year of records, breaking the records we broke last year. We have all the preparations for this. I can say that we have a more solid tourism infrastructure than in the past. All our stakeholders are working and we are in search of carrying out tourism activities with a very solid infrastructure without risking a very important tourism revenue. This is not only Antalya's tourism, but Türkiye's tourism, and not only tourism, but Türkiye's promotion and reputation. Therefore, the issue is not just about money, it contains much greater meanings. For this reason, we are working without leaving any gaps, without leaving any shortcomings."

Saying that they expect to give good news this year as well, Governor Şahin also talked about transportation projects aimed at enabling tourists to visit the city center more. Stating that Antalya Airport is a source of honor and pride, Governor Şahin said, "Antalya Airport is Türkiye's largest airport after Istanbul Airport. It is one of the largest airports in the world with a capacity of 82 million. We cannot be proud enough of this. There were sudden large accumulations, we will no longer experience these. There are some places related to exits and we are working on them," he said.

FIRE INSPECTION IN HOTELS

Governor Şahin stated that the relevant units give a reasonable time to each hotel according to its deficiencies in the fire regulation compliant inspections in hotels, and said, "If it sees a deficiency in the re-inspection, then it closes it. Of course, this does not include those who do not have any license, those who are completely illegal. They are already illegal, they should already be automatically sealed directly. Therefore, those you say have been closed are actually those who do not have any license. But those inspection processes are continuing regarding those with licenses. It's not easy, of course. A huge city. There are 2 thousand 500 tourism businesses, 650 thousand beds. Therefore, inspecting all of them at once exceeds the capacity of the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Fire Department. First of all, businesses documented in a simple procedure were prioritized. There is also a reason for this. Because they only received this document with a declaration. In other words, they had not seen any inspection," he said.

Noting that there is no distinction between tourism business licensed and simple licensed, Governor Şahin said, "All of them are inspected and will be inspected. Our approach is this; if a fire occurs, God forbid, if a fatal incident occurs, we will pay a very heavy price for this. Not only the lives we lost, that is already something that cannot be compensated. Can a person's life be measured with money? But beyond that, there is a risk of losing billions of dollars. Therefore, no one can take this risk. We are doing these inspections to make the sector stronger and as a result of these inspections, you will see that we will have tourism facilities with a much more solid infrastructure. What is important for us is the completion of this process, it is not right for the inspections to only be tied to the door. There are many elements. We monitor all of them and these will be finished as supplies are completed in the process," he said.

HEART OF THE CITY

Governor Şahin stated that Kaleiçi is the center and heart of Antalya tourism, and said, "Someone who comes to Antalya and does not see Kaleiçi cannot really be said to have fully recognized Antalya. Therefore, what we are always trying to do is, whether they come to Belek, Alanya or Kaş, they should definitely come to Kaleiçi. All our efforts are on this. We are trying to strengthen our infrastructure in Kaleiçi. The boutique hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues here need to be of high quality and appeal to everyone. Our Metropolitan Municipality has a project on the pier. We are doing a study in Mermerli. Hıdırlık is about to be finished, it is becoming very beautiful. Kaleiçi is the focus of all of us, our flagship. Of course, there is a sad thing. It hurts me that a city like Antalya does not have any place on the UNESCO World Heritage List. A file needs to be prepared and effort needs to be made on this issue, we are currently working on Kaleiçi," he said.

INSPECTION ON 640 KM BEACH

Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Muhittin Böcek also said that they are trying to keep the sea clean with electronic ship inspections and thermal cameras on the 640 km beach from Gazipaşa to Kaş, "There are 2 thousand 734 businesses affiliated to our Ministry of Tourism in Antalya. 1582 of these are simple accommodation and licenses issued by municipalities. On the one hand, transportation, on the one hand, infrastructure, on the one hand, protecting our seas, we have 36 treatment plants and we are currently investing 5.5 billion liras as ASAT again. On the one hand, there is a capacity increase in Kundu. We are increasing it by 100 percent. Hopefully, we will have successful years," he said.

NEW TARGET

AKTOB President Kaan Kavaloğlu stated that a very big record was broken last year with 17 million, and said the following:

"Our goal this year is to match this record. The season has started. Actually, the season started with Ramadan Bayram. Hotels have completed their renovation and restoration, especially in the winter months. We had a serious preparation period for the season. Currently, both the climate conditions are very suitable and there will be a significant increase in the number of tourists coming with the start of the Easter period. By the end of April, we will have achieved almost the same figure as last year. Therefore, we will start to increase as of May. We are expecting this. Our real competitors are Greece, France, Italy and Spain. So we are competing with them. We are competing with their prices. Of course, there is an inflationary pressure on us. Our government's exchange rate policy is very important to us. A fixed exchange rate policy causes our expenses to increase and our revenues to remain fixed. But in this sense, we will have a very serious increase in income by the end of June. Our prices are actually fully competitive."

Kaleiçi is surrounded by inner and outer walls in the shape of a horseshoe, most of which have been demolished and disappeared. The walls are a joint work of the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman periods. The walls have 80 towers. There are about 3,000 houses with tiled roofs inside the walls. The characteristic structures of the houses not only give an idea about the architectural history of Antalya, but also reflect the lifestyle, traditions and customs in the region in the best way. Kaleiçi is the name given to the city center surrounded by sea and land walls within the borders of Muratpaşa district of Antalya. The streets and structures of Kaleiçi bring the traces of Antalya's history to the present day.

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