Bursa wants to lure you in for a weekend getaway
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Özgür Korkmaz
OluÅŸturulma Tarihi: Haziran 24, 2009 00:00
BURSA - Tourism has become one of the main sectors in Turkey and every city wants its share of the pie. Launching a campaign titled ’To Bursa on the weekend,’ industry and trade center Bursa is to target local tourists who prefer to spend their weekends out of the city.
Turkey’s automotive and textile capital, Bursa, which has been struggling under the weight of the global crisis, is seeking salvation through tourism. The Bursa Chamber of Industry and Commerce, or BTSO, has launched a campaign to promote Bursa as a weekend getaway destination. Speaking at a press conference Tuesday at the BTSO headquarters in Bursa, BTSO Chairman Celal Sönmez said Bursa, a leading city in industry and commerce, should play a much more important role in tourism.
"Bursa is among the top five cities in production and exports, but lags behind in tourism revenue. Today we are taking a step to change the fate of our city," he said. The campaign, titled "To Bursa on the weekend," aims to promote Bursa, located 200 kilometers south-east of Istanbul, as a destination for weekend holidays, especially for the over-10 million people living in Turkey’s biggest city.
Preparation process
Güven Borça, a brand consultant who prepared the project, said: "To Bursa on the weekend" was much more than a simple promotional campaign.
"We have been preparing the project for eight months," he said. "We have talked to almost every related party in Bursa, including shop owners, politicians and tourism experts. So this is a project that the people of Bursa have consensus on." The project will not only promote the city through billboards, newspapers and television, but also educate officials, shop owners and members of nongovernmental organizations on tourism.Â
"Tourism is not easy, you must be ready when the tourists come" he said. "We will teach the people of Bursa that the future of the city lies in tourism."
Bursa hosted 470,000 tourists in 2007, and the three-year project aims to increase this number to 1 million by 2010 and 2 million local and 500,000 foreign tourists by 2015. These numbers are impressive, but raise questions about whether a city with a hotel-bed capacity of only 7,000 is ready for the challenge. Sönmez believes that the project is the first step of a "dream." "We will not compete with Antalya, of course, and have 9 million tourists a year. Antalya has become a global brand. We want Bursa to become a local brand first, once we mange that, we may chase a dream to make it a global brand."
The successful businessman, who also has interests in the tourism industry with Baia Hotels, is optimistic that infrastructure problems will be solved in time. "But of course we need the support of politicians and municipalities," he said. "The BTSO can sponsor this campaign, but it cannot build rods or parking lots. I am aware that the hotels and their service quality might be a problem. We might have problems at first, but once there is demand, supply will definitely follow."
Bursa has many advantages for a city to become a brand name, Bortça said, two of which being the variety of activities in the city and its accessibility.
"Bursa city center is just two hours from Yenikapı, Istanbul, if one uses the fast ferry service," he said. "And once here, I am sure that even long weekends are not enough to take full advantage of the city."
Bursa, the first capital of the Ottoman Empire, is very rich in cultural and religious heritage, a feature of the city to be initially highlighted.
"The first thing we will focus on will be cultural-historical-religious tourism, as the holy month of Ramadan starts in the beginning of September," said Bortça. "With its various historic mosques and tombs, like the Ulu Cami and Yeşil Türbe, Bursa is the place a Muslim wants to be on a sacred day."
The other two concepts in the future of tourism in Bursa will be nature-sports and shopping.
The project will need around 3 million Turkish Liras a year and the BTSO is ready to cover 1 million of that. "Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, which is our partner in the project, can cover 1 million, and we can collect the remainder from sponsors," Sönmez said. "I don’t think money will be a problem as long as the people of Bursa believe in this project."
It will be tough challenge for Bursa, a long-time industry and trade center, to transform into a tourism destination, but it might be the city’s only chance to avoid hitting rock-bottom every time an economic crisis occurs.
"Bursa is among the top five cities in production and exports, but lags behind in tourism revenue. Today we are taking a step to change the fate of our city," he said. The campaign, titled "To Bursa on the weekend," aims to promote Bursa, located 200 kilometers south-east of Istanbul, as a destination for weekend holidays, especially for the over-10 million people living in Turkey’s biggest city.
Preparation process
Güven Borça, a brand consultant who prepared the project, said: "To Bursa on the weekend" was much more than a simple promotional campaign.
"We have been preparing the project for eight months," he said. "We have talked to almost every related party in Bursa, including shop owners, politicians and tourism experts. So this is a project that the people of Bursa have consensus on." The project will not only promote the city through billboards, newspapers and television, but also educate officials, shop owners and members of nongovernmental organizations on tourism.Â
"Tourism is not easy, you must be ready when the tourists come" he said. "We will teach the people of Bursa that the future of the city lies in tourism."
Bursa hosted 470,000 tourists in 2007, and the three-year project aims to increase this number to 1 million by 2010 and 2 million local and 500,000 foreign tourists by 2015. These numbers are impressive, but raise questions about whether a city with a hotel-bed capacity of only 7,000 is ready for the challenge. Sönmez believes that the project is the first step of a "dream." "We will not compete with Antalya, of course, and have 9 million tourists a year. Antalya has become a global brand. We want Bursa to become a local brand first, once we mange that, we may chase a dream to make it a global brand."
The successful businessman, who also has interests in the tourism industry with Baia Hotels, is optimistic that infrastructure problems will be solved in time. "But of course we need the support of politicians and municipalities," he said. "The BTSO can sponsor this campaign, but it cannot build rods or parking lots. I am aware that the hotels and their service quality might be a problem. We might have problems at first, but once there is demand, supply will definitely follow."
Bursa has many advantages for a city to become a brand name, Bortça said, two of which being the variety of activities in the city and its accessibility.
"Bursa city center is just two hours from Yenikapı, Istanbul, if one uses the fast ferry service," he said. "And once here, I am sure that even long weekends are not enough to take full advantage of the city."
Bursa, the first capital of the Ottoman Empire, is very rich in cultural and religious heritage, a feature of the city to be initially highlighted.
"The first thing we will focus on will be cultural-historical-religious tourism, as the holy month of Ramadan starts in the beginning of September," said Bortça. "With its various historic mosques and tombs, like the Ulu Cami and Yeşil Türbe, Bursa is the place a Muslim wants to be on a sacred day."
The other two concepts in the future of tourism in Bursa will be nature-sports and shopping.
The project will need around 3 million Turkish Liras a year and the BTSO is ready to cover 1 million of that. "Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, which is our partner in the project, can cover 1 million, and we can collect the remainder from sponsors," Sönmez said. "I don’t think money will be a problem as long as the people of Bursa believe in this project."
It will be tough challenge for Bursa, a long-time industry and trade center, to transform into a tourism destination, but it might be the city’s only chance to avoid hitting rock-bottom every time an economic crisis occurs.