We had a pleasant conversation with Sianji Group Board Chairman Recai Çakır at ITB Berlin. Çakır talked about his social media influencer , writing career and charity activities to the GM microphones. Çakır also made detailed comments about the future of Turkish tourism and made important recommendations and suggestions for changes. Enjoyable reading... You have recently added social media influencer to tourism . How do you manage to be so versatile, has this always been a characteristic of yours or did you just discover it? I have been on YouTube and Instagram for years and I was blue ticked. 2 years ago, I opened a restaurant on the farm behind the hotel. I opened a channel and made great programs with 25 artists there. First we chat, tell about their projects, then we sing a little, then we cook and eat. It was a nice concept , it did not get more than 20-30 thousand views. From Müşerref Akay to Gonca Evcimik to Selçuk Alagöz, very valuable artist friends who mostly live in Bodrum came. I said, "Hey guys, why are our videos not watched enough?" They said, "Let's share 1-minute videos. You have very beautiful words. You can tell them in one minute." I had just come from a ride, wearing a Harley t-shirt, and spontaneously said, "Shoot a video." 2 years ago, when I turned 64, I shared something like, "I decided to divide my life into four. I work 25 percent, spend 25 percent time with my loved ones and family, spend 25 percent time with myself and my hobbies, do sports, make music, and support those in need by collaborating with associations that run to help them." The kid said, "You don't have TikTok. We need to make a TikTok," and he opened it that day. This interview has been watched 1 million times on TikTok. It has been watched 8 million times on my own Instagram page. We said, 'Let's do this,' and suddenly, in 2 months, the number of our followers reached 253,000.

"MY BOOK IS IN ITS 11TH EDITION"

Bookstores started running after me, they said, "Write down what you talk about." In these conversations I had, there was fatherly advice, there was Rumi, there were moral stories , there were things that did not belong to me. I said, "Let me think about it." Then I wrote a book attributing it to young people. Actually, we started with 'Success is not difficult,' but 'It is not difficult.' That book is now in its 11th printing. Conferences started with this book.

"WE GAVE A CONCERT FOR ORPHANED GIRLS"

I constantly go to conferences abroad, universities invite me. I gave a conference at TEDx, I also give conferences for the benefit of foundations. In addition, I have a choir that I founded 10 years ago, we give 1-2 concerts a year. We gave concerts in Bodrum 3-4 times, we gave a concert for orphaned girls in Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall, one of the biggest halls of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. We continue our charity works, in the meantime I saw that my voice is doing well.

"I DECIDED TO RELEASE AN ALBUM"

Now I have decided to release an album, I will donate it as an income for orphaned girls. Thanks to Zülfü Livaneli, Onur Akın, Ümit Tokcan and valuable brothers, I took a song from them. I will turn them into an album soon and we will present it to people. Everyone who clicks will have helped our orphaned children. This is how life is, the order changes.

"IF IT HADN'T BEEN A CRISIS, I WOULD HAVE MAYBE 25 THOUSAND EMPLOYEES"

We have now reached 850 thousand followers on Instagram. In the meantime, I wrote the second book.   It is actually a road map for Turkey, we are in a period in our second century when we need to make a revolution. In order to shake ourselves up again and take the republic founded by Atatürk to the next level, we need reform everywhere. In education, healthcare, infrastructure, internal and external security... Turkey has come a long way, some things have been done so far, but in the last 75 years, some political trends have brought political and economic instabilities, we have experienced many crises. 25 years ago I had 1500 employees, if things had gone well and there hadn’t been those crises in Turkey, today I would have maybe 25 thousand employees.

"I HAVE ANOTHER BOOK IN MY HEAD CALLED 'A HAPPY WORLD IS NOT DIFFICULT'"

The country is very rich, our assets are many, they should only be opened to the public interest and for everyone’s use and shared equally. There are equal human rights and equal education rights. I wrote this book and produced solutions. I hope to introduce it to you soon. The printing is ready, we are waiting for the right environment. Maybe the statesmen who want to do this job want it, it can become a party program with them. I produced very good solutions because having traveled to 85 countries there has been beneficial. My research has been ongoing for 35 years, this book has been written for 35 years. I have a book in my head called 'A Happy World Is Not Difficult', it also includes suggestions such as ending wars and establishing a World Gendarmerie where a single passport is used. The G8 should want this the most, they are the ones who sell the most weapons to the world and take 80 percent of the world economy.

I have another book in my mind, called 'Peaceful World', it is about divisions, religions, sects, it gives the message 'there is no need for these, just be a decent person'. There is also a novel. There will be 5 books, we'll look at it after that.

Being a tourist has also greatly benefited your whole outlook on life, your 360-degree experience. Of course.

"WE COULD TALK ABOUT 3 MILLION BEDS AND BEING NUMBER 1 IN THE WORLD"

How do you interpret the sector when you look at it as a tourism professional and investor? The sector is a very dynamism-filled sector. I wish there were no crises in Turkey, I wish there was a tourism master plan in Turkey, Turkey's potential was put on the table and we could grow whatever was needed. Today, we could be talking about 3 million beds and being number one in the world. Because there is no history where 3 empires have existed anywhere, there is no nature where you can live in four seasons at the same time anywhere, and also the human power. We are a country with smiling Anatolian people, who have the ability to host people passing by. If they have 2 chickens, they will slaughter one and feed people passing by. We were a society that loved to host and make people happy, morals have deteriorated a little. Therefore, we have started to lose these characteristics. If these could be preserved, if morals could be preserved, if there were no economic crises, if people did not become desperate and do not know what to do, we could achieve the supply and demand balance today.

"THERE IS WRONG WITH THE STAR RATING SYSTEM"

I think we need to pause investments in Antalya for a while. When we bring the prices to a certain level and put everything in order, we need to open it. In Antalya, 5-star hotels should be divided into 3. 4+, 5 and 5+. There is a mistake in the star rating system, I have mentioned this before, a regulation has been made. 1-2 stars are almost non-existent in Turkey. 3 and 4, 5 stars are predominant. While the number of 5 stars in the world is 25 percent, in our country it is 75 percent. Currently, there is a need for very high-quality 3 and 4-star city hotels in Turkey. When I opened my first hotel at the age of 30, there was no hotel with 300 rooms and 500-600 beds in Bodrum. The next hotel I opened was different despite the same square meter, I wanted to make an expansion in Turkey. In 2006, I made a boutique hotel, residence project and villa project inspired by the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the 7 Wonders of the World. Title deeds could not be given at that time, we pressed and struggled. They were only giving title deeds to hostels, we had title deeds given to apartments. It took 7-8 years. With that wind, chain brands entered Bodrum. The first thing that developed that vision in Bodrum was the work I did. There is a concept there that first established condominiums in the tourism sector and still struggles and continues its journey under the name Sianji , which I have been operating for 15 years, investing in and working for 12 months . I also brought thermal water into it, it coincided with the pandemic, we couldn't fully announce it. We have Bodrum's only and the world's most valuable mineral water. I had built 3 indoor swimming pools to open for 12 months. I already filled one with free water, one with sea water, one with a shock pool. We did great things there, we set an example. You buy 1+1, 2+1, 3+1 residences . When you don't come, you give them to us and we operate them. In this way, your property becomes valuable, you don't need an employee at home. We do shopping 2 days a week, our sheets are washed, it is a great service. We are a completely all suite hotel, not in Bodrum, there is no all suite hotel concept in Turkey. Great. I am making similar innovations, but I am tired. I devoted myself to that business in order to reach more people, reach more people, transfer what I know to the youth and help children in need. That's why I stopped growing. There were 4-5 brands under Sianji. When the bombs exploded in 2016, my son said, "I'm leaving," I left the facility to them, they had won 13 international awards. Then they transferred it to me, the hotel won 33 international awards, but I suspended the growth policy when the second generation did not come.

"INVESTMENTS ARE RETURNED IN 2 YEARS IN THE SYSTEM I ESTABLISHED"

My son Oytun continues his restaurant chain in Dubai. He multiplies the money in 2-3 years. Here, the investment in facilities does not return in 15-20 years, but in the system I established, it returns in 2 years. When you make 50 percent hotels and 50 percent residences , you finance it with the residences you sell. Turkey should overcome this and include this in its qualification management. It brought the chance to give separate independent taboos to apartments. Then Didim will transform, those cooperatives in Bodrum will transform. We have a lot of places right by the sea, there is no need to open new places. Transformation is requested again, if the way is opened for giving independent taboos to apartments, tourism will reach a different dimension, 12-month tourism will start. Everyone has a house, a summer house in Bodrum, they will want to live in it for 12 months. When you add culture, nature, sports and health to this, Bodrum will become a place to live in for 12 months. After the pandemic, the population which was already 300 thousand increased to 600 thousand.

"THE COUNTRY IS NOT WHERE IT DESERVES"

I have been keeping the hotel open in Bodrum for 12 months on my own, as a knight, for 15 years. Even if we make a loss, at least we keep the staff. We make a little loss, there are no planes, we have problems. The country is not where it deserves today. Turkish Airlines flies all over the world, if it puts a few flights to Bodrum, everyone will have a house; Kazakhs, Azeris, Russians have homes. What's the harm in flying from certain centers? If it tried for 3 months, believe me, it would open a 2nd or 3rd flight. For example, the first hotel I built was only a summer hotel, you can't live there in the winter. Because there is no indoor area, it's a holiday village. Most of the recently built hotels are ready for winter, they have amazing spas. There needs to be a transformation and they say they use 52 percent of our capacity, there is 48 percent vacancy. Europe has increased this to 70-80 percent. If we can increase it to 70-80 percent, it means 25 percent. We have more than 50 percent of our capacity. What does this mean? Our turnover has already increased from 60 million to 90 million, again without making beds.

"URFA NEEDS 100 THOUSAND BEDS"

There are 3 thousand beds in Urfa, there needs to be 100 thousand beds there. We need to show the whole world there. They found another 12 thousand years old place, they are talking about 14 thousand years old, these are tremendous assets. We need to diversify tourism, make peace with the world, and approach the European Union again. We need to give up on Middle Easternizing us and make us Western. As Atatürk said, "Peace at home, peace in the world." It should be said to all world civilizations, let's open up all the civilizations of the Ottomans, Romans, Byzantines, let's share this history and nature together. We have a lot to do, we also have potential. Only those who govern us need to realize this, they have been there for a few years when they had a foreign exchange problem, but it is not enough. It should be put on the table more properly, a very serious master plan should be drawn, Turkey's potential should be determined and moves should be made accordingly. There's a lot to talk about.

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