Intra Tourism organised a meeting and a workshop for top tourism officials that come to Istanbul from Genoa (Liguria) to promote their region to those working in Turkish tourism.
The introductory meeting and workshop was organised by Intra tourism at the Marmara Hotel . There was a lot of interest in the workshop which was attended by outgoing Turkish travel agents and tour operators.
Intra Tourism’s CEO, Ertugrul Karaoğlu opened the meeting, and introduced the President of Sistema Turistico Golfo dei Poeti, Damiano Pinelli who said “the close relationship between peoples of the two areas is very important. In the past they developed a close relationship as sea-faring peoples, and Istanbul, with its strategic position at the cross-roads of two continents, had close commercial ties with the city of Genoa.”
“This wonderful, welcoming city provides a wealth of cultural and touristic experiences. It can find much in common with the maritime city of Genoa, with its natural beauty and rich art.
He said, “It was in 2006 that a delegation from Genoa first met the Beyoglu Municipality. In order to further strengthen the ties between the two cities, in June we want to arrange a photographic exhibition which will take place in both Istanbul and Genoa.”
“We are very happy that we have had the opportunity to get to know your beautiful city better and to strengthen the historic ties between the Galata region and the Genoese tour operators”, he said.
After speeches from Mauro Bolognesi and Marco Greco of the Sistema Turistico delegation, the Manager of Turkish Airlines (THY) in Genoa, Ufuk Unal took the microphone and said that it was very easy to reach Genoa with THY’s direct flight services.
Following the workshop, guests were treated with Liguria wine and specialties prepared by the head chef of Porto Venere, Abramo Prandi, and everyone had a very enjoyable evening.
The Genoa city centre is close to the airport and the city has potential for tourism throughout the year. It has a bed capacity of 6000 beds, including a number of 5 star hotels which offer accommodation on bed and breakfast basis.