Project Director Pelin Musabay Baki participated in the 8th Meeting of UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Silk Road Task Force which was hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey on 26 April 2018 in Kayseri.

The meeting that started by the opening remarks of Ziya Taşkent, Deputy Undersecretary of the abovementioned Ministry and Beka Jakeli, Coordinator for Member Relations of the UNWTO was attended by the representatives of the 34 member states and several affiliated members of the UNWTO.

During the meeting, Project Director Baki made a presentation entitled “Turkic Council Modern Silk Road Joint Tour Package: An Innovative Project to Empower the Silk Road Tourism”. In the presentation, touching upon the ongoing fruitful cooperation between the Turkic Council and the UNWTO since 2015, she briefed the audience about the aim, preparation process and the structure of the Joint Tour Package. Underlining that as the said Package is on the market and available to be bought by the interested tourists through the website www.modernsilkroad.tour.com , she drew attention to the Turkic Council’s comprehensive efforts to turn an idea into a reality. Furthermore, she highlighted the Turkic Council’s desire to cooperate with Uzbekistan and Georgia for their inclusion in the project through the creation of complementary destinations to the Modern Silk Road Joint Tour Package. She finished her presentation by noting that there is the need to come up with project driven initiatives for the development of Silk Road as a well-structured and attractive tourism brand.

Coordinator Jakeli in his closing statement appreciated the steps taken by the Turkic Council to empower the Silk Road Tourism and he expressed the key role that the regional organisations such as the Council plays to equip the Silk Road tourism with necessary means.