Kindly provided by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey, the desk of the Turkic Council was located on the site reserved for Turkey, which on the first day of the exhibition (5 November) was opened by the Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey Mehmet Nuri Ersoy and Governor of Antalya Münir Karaloğlu. The minister delivered a speech to the exhibitors during the opening ceremony in which he briefed on the latest developments in the tourism sector and made an assessment on the expectations regarding the tourism market`s dynamics in 2019.
During the WTM, which brings together more than 51000 global travel trade professionals including 5000 exhibitors from 182 countries under one roof every year, the Turkic Council officials exhibited the Modern Silk Road Joint Tour Package to the potential buyers and customers and in order to establish and consolidate the "Modern Silk Road" brand in the industry.
Pre-arranged B2B meetings were organized during the three days of the event to establish new contacts for future collaboration, especially with tour operators from the Americas, Europe, and South Asia.
WTM served an excellent opportunity to find/meet new suppliers, build new networks and discover recent trends within the industry. Participation in the side events of the WTM such as the 2018 UNWTO & WTM Ministers` Summit, taking place on the second day of the exhibition (6 November), helped to intensify Secretariat`s efforts to this end as well.
