The delegation of the Turkic Council presided by Secretary General Ambassador Ramil Hasanov attended on 17 January 2018 in Madrid the opening ceremony of International Tourism Fair in Spain (FITUR) as the guest of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). King of Spain H.E. Felipe VI and tourism ministers of several countries kicked off the opening ceremony.

On this occasion the said delegation officially started to promote the Turkic Council Modern Silk Road Joint Tour Package at the stand within the pavillon of Turkey. The stand was allocated to the Secretariat by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey on the basis of the mutual agreement to raise awareness on the joint tour product at the international arena.

As it has been introduced during the first day of the FITUR, the joint tour package that was prepared in line with the instructions of the Presidents of the Turkic Council Member States at the Turkic Council Bodrum Summit in 2014, will welcome the first tourists with the first trip to start on 15 March 2018. The tour that takes 15 days visiting the landmarks of the Silk Road in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, will be also bought as an individual country and in combination of 2 or 3 countries. The selling of the tour will be carried out through the following website : http://www.modernsilkroadtour.com/.

On the occasion of the FİTUR, Ambassador Hasanov had bilatetal meetings with the heads of relevant tourism authorities.

Last year 9,893 exhibiting companies from 165 countries/regions, 135,858 trade participants and 107,213 people from the general public attended the FITUR, and this year, these figures are expected to further increase.

Deputy Secretary General Dr. Ömer Kocaman, Project Directors Pelin Musabay Baki and Ceyhun Shahverdiyev, acting Chief of Protocol Araz Salmanov as well as Interpretor Ülker Aliyeva, accompanied Secretary General Hasanov.