Adana Governor Köşger shared his plans to create a large-scale gastronomy basin covering Adana in the meeting he held with local and national press members. Governor Köşger said, ‘We want to make tourism sustainable 365 days. Gastronomy is one of Adana’s strongest areas in tourism. We are working on a route that will include Hatay, Antep and Adana. “Our aim is to organize regular package tours covering these regions and including the surrounding districts,” he said. Stating that the project was shaped by consultations with the presidents of the relevant cities, Köşger emphasized that this planned project will offer unforgettable experiences to tourists with the historical and archaeological riches of the city. He also added that the areas obtained by converting irrigation canals into a closed system will be brought to the city.
The 8th International Adana Taste Festival, organized under the auspices of Adana Governorship, continued on October 19 with enjoyable events and full content. Many columnists, economic managers, reporters and broadcasters working in national media channels had the opportunity to get to know the two important tourism “locomotives” of the city yesterday within the scope of the festival.
Members of the press first visited the blue crab and seafood production farm in Karataş district. The group, hosted by the district governor and the mayor, then visited the excavation site of the ancient city of Magarsus. Adana Governor Yavuz Selim Köşger answered the questions of the press members he met in the festival area after the tours in which these two important points of the city in the field of economy and tourism were explained.
The 8th International Adana Taste Festival, organized under the auspices of Adana Governorship with the contributions of Adana Metropolitan Municipality, four central district municipalities and chamber presidents, continued yesterday with the intense participation of local and foreign visitors. The interest of the national, regional and local press in the festival, which was held between 17-20 October, was also quite high. While activities continued in the festival area all day long, members of the national press visited two important points that are increasingly contributing to Adana’s economy and tourism. Hosted by Karataş District Governor Necati Aktan and Karataş Mayor Ali Bedrettin Karataş, members of the press first went to Akyatan Dalyan, the largest lagoon in Turkey. At the facility where blue crab, which has a very special place in seafood cuisine with its taste, is produced, officials gave detailed information to members of the press about the production processes and annual economic transaction volume.
CONTRIBUTION TO THE ECONOMY IS 10 MILLION TL ANNUALLY
The lagoon, which is the natural breeding ground for fish and where fish such as carp, eel and mullet, especially boterga and blue crab are bred, has the status of a bird paradise and is under protection, as it is also the accommodation point of birds such as pelicans, flamingos and coots on their migration route. Providing information to the press during the visit, facility officials also pointed out that Akyatan Dalyan creates an economy of 10 million TL annually with exports to many destinations, especially countries such as the USA, Spain and Japan, and that the balance is maintained by complying with the natural breeding and hunting processes and the quotas determined by the ministries. Members of the national press, who had the opportunity to examine the facility on site, also visited the excavation site of the ancient city of Magarsus, accompanied by District Governor Aktan and Mayor Karataş. Assoc. Prof., head of excavations about the ancient city, which is estimated to date back 6-8 thousand years. Dr. After Fatih Erhan’s detailed explanation, members of the press returned to the city center and met with Governor Yavuz Selim Köşger at the festival area.
“WE WANT TO EXPAND TOURISM IN ADANA TO 365 DAYS”
Governor Köşger also touched upon the project of creating a gastronomy basin covering Adana in the information he gave to members of the press and answered their questions. “We want to expand tourism to 365 days. Gastronomy is Adana’s strongest area in terms of tourism. We are planning to create a route centered on Hatay, Antep and Adana, to establish a gastronomy basin that will include some of the surrounding districts, and to sell package tours that will visit these points regularly throughout the year. We discussed this issue with the mayors of the relevant cities. Because we, the governors, are travelers, and the presidents are the innkeepers, that is, they are the real owners of the cities.“We really want them to support this project,” he said. He added that Adana, in addition to its importance in gastronomy tourism, provides its visitors with a lot of “content” with its history, archaeological sites and facilities to spend time in the city. He also stated that the irrigation channels will be converted into a closed system and the areas created from these will be brought to the city.
ANOTHER FESTIVAL DAY FULL OF COMPETITIONS, PANELS AND EVENTS
The events prepared by Gökmen Sözen and his team, who created all the stage program contents of the Adana Taste Festival in the Central Park festival area this year, for which Governor Köşger said “We expect an income of approximately 3 billion TL”, continued throughout the day in the festival area in the city center. On the third day of the festival, events in the central area started with the official opening ceremony and Governor Köşger’s speech. In the panels held afterwards, important topics such as the role of local governments in tourism, the contributions of gastronomy tourism to the economy, the strategies required to find new investors, and sustainability were discussed by experts in their fields. While the events where local flavors of the city were interpreted by well-known chefs from Adana attracted great attention, workshop tents and young chef competitions were also in the center of attention.
GALA DINNER WAS HELD IN ADANA MUSEUM
The 8th International Adana Taste Festival, held under the auspices of Adana Governorship, with the contributions of the Metropolitan Municipality, district municipalities and all chambers, organized a gala dinner with intense participation. Following the protocol’s speeches about the festival, guests had the opportunity to taste many local delicacies at the gala night, where all dishes from the region were exhibited.
