Travel Industry Celebrates 35th Anniversary of SunExpress

Around 300 guests attend industry congress in Antalya

SunExpress, a joint venture of Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, hosted around 300 industry partners for its “35 Years to the Sun & Beyond” event in Belek, Türkiye.

Attendees included international travel agency and tour operator partners with several from the UK, airport representatives, ground handling partners and media representatives. During presentations, panel discussions and networking events, participants had the opportunity to gain insights into Türkiye as a year-round destination and discuss the future development of this top destination.

Tour operators including Shaun Morton (CEO of On the Beach), Deniz Uğur (CEO of Bentour Reisen) and Gerald Kassner (CEO of Schauinsland-Reisen) discussed Türkiye as a booming travel destination. Despite its high popularity and many returning guests, they see potential for further growth, particularly through an extended summer season and stronger positioning beyond beach vacations.

Türkiye is increasingly focusing on diversifying its tourism offerings aiming to achieve sustainable growth for the destination and promoting cultural and gastronomic experiences in particular, reported Erkan Yağci (President of the Türkiye Hoteliers Federation (TÜROFED)), Kaan Kavaloğlu (Präsident of the Mediterranian Touristic Hoteliers and Investors Association) and Sinan Seha Türkseven (Acting General Manager of the Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA)).

Prof. Dr. Sedef Çokay Kepçe (Head of Excavation Antalya Perge Archaeological Site) and pro-extreme athlete Savaş Çoban discussed the importance of historical sites, such as the ancient city of Perge near Antalya and Ephesus near Izmir.

Opportunities for sports enthusiasts were also discussed. This included golf tourism, which is a rapidly growing market, particularly in the Belek region with its 16 attractive golf courses. Young golfers in particular are important drivers of the market, the participating golf resort operators and managers of golf travel agencies concluded.

Gudrun Teloeken (General Manager Fraport TAV Antalya Airport) and Lars Redeligx (CEO Düsseldorf Airport) see the expansion of the airport infrastructure as an important step towards working together with all partners – such as ground handling and airlines – in the interests of holistic customer satisfaction.