Turkish Airlines aims to make Thessaloniki a global city, the airline’s director in Thessaloniki, Utku Yazan, said on Jan. 31 during the airline’s renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Thessaloniki Hotels Association.
He expressed his belief that 2013 will be a positive year, thanks to Northern Greece’s strong presence in the markets of India, the Middle and Far East, the former Soviet Republics, and later on in the markets of South America. Indian tourism operators for the first time, got to know the word Thessaloniki, he noted.
Interest in Greece’s second-largest city is growing, with the number of hits on Google doubling in one year, as people discover its cosmopolitan makeup and rich history. Thessaloniki Hotels Association President Aristotelis Thomopoulos said that through the renewed deal with Turkish Airlines, the association now targets the markets of India, Dubai, Bahrain, Oman, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia.
According to his statement, “The Turkish (airlines) now connects Thessaloniki with the four cardinal points, and this gives us a significant advantage over other destinations in the Balkans”.
The association will also participate in the IMT 2013-International Mediterranean Tourism Market in Tel Aviv which is to be held Feb. 5-6 among other promotional activities to approach these markets, including organization of familiarization trips to Thessaloniki for journalists and tour operators.
Yazan said Chinese and Indian visitors traveled to Thessaloniki via Turkish Airlines and he’s optimistic it will continue. He noted that one of the airline’s next goals is to target the Swedish market via Gothenburg.
Meanwhile, starting this summer, passengers of Turkish Airlines will be given a “health card” free of charge, which will ensure that in case of experiencing a health problem over Greek territory, it will be dealt with immediately.
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