Tourism Season Enters Stagnation in Peak Season: The Operation of the Turkish Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) is Being Questioned! How and Where Does the Turkish Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) Spend the Money Collected? Tourism Season Enters Stagnation During Peak Season
The Turkish Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) was established on July 15, 2019. However, the agency’s functioning and effectiveness began to be seriously questioned in 2024. The stagnation in the tourism sector raises concerns that the agency is failing to achieve its goals.
TGA, Turkey becoming a brand and center of attraction in the domestic and international tourism market,It is known that it set out with goals such as promoting and developing natural and cultural heritage. It was expected that the agency would continue its activities in line with the tourism strategies and policies determined by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. However, the current stagnation and failure to meet expectations raise questions about the agency’s effectiveness.
Affiliated to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism TGA is subject to private law provisionsand is managed by bodies such as the Board of Directors, the Executive Board and the Advisory Board. The Board of Directors consists of 18 people under the chairmanship of the Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey, while the Executive Board consists of a team of 5 people.
TGA’s Success is Being Discussed: Targets Are Not Being Achieved, Tourism Stagnation Continues
In accordance with the founding purpose of the agency, to contribute to Turkey gaining its targeted position in the international market, increase the number of tourists and profitabilityIt is being debated how successful it is in achieving such goals. The stagnation in the tourism sector and the failure to achieve these goals are causing the functioning and effectiveness of the TGA to be questioned.
As of 2024, more transparency and accountability are being demanded regarding the extent to which TGA has achieved its goals and how it has contributed to Turkish tourism. Tourism professionals and sector stakeholders expect the agency to produce more effective and concrete results. The stagnation at the height of the tourism season indicates that the operation of the TGA needs to be reconsidered.
Increase in Resources in TGA: Increase in State Aid Received by TGA from the Treasury
In addition to the “tourism shares” it receives from the tourism sector, the Turkish Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) also receives state aid from the Treasury. According to data compiled by Tourism Databank from the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, the state aid received by TGA from the Treasury increased by 48% in the first 4 months of 2024, reaching 1.36 billion TL. In addition, the amount of “Tourism Share” received by TGA from the sector increased by 154%, reaching 1.05 billion TL.
1 BILLION COLLECTED FROM THE SECTOR
According to data compiled by Turizmdatabank from the Treasury, the amount of Tourism Share received by the Tourism Development Agency TGA from the tourism sector increased by 115% in the 5-month period of 2024 and reached 1.25 billion TL. 66 billion TL of this went to the state as tax, while the rest was transferred to TGA.
How and Where Does Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) Spend the Money Collected?
When we examined the website of the Turkish Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA), we could not see as an open source where and how much money the agency spends each month. However, when we examined the Media Reflection reports under the Press Room tab, we saw that Turkey was in the press all over the world in April 2024. The April Media Reflection report consists of 600 pages.
According to the May report data we examined in the monthly reports section under the Activities tab, Press Reflection Reach: 190.3 billion, Influencer Reflection Reach: 150.6 millionAlthough these data may seem like very high figures, what is important in promotion is continuity and permanence.
I wonder how much money TGA spends monthly for all this visibility?
The lack of sufficient information on the financial transparency of the agency’s activities is raising concerns in the tourism sector. The stagnation and uncertainties experienced during the peak of the tourism season are causing the TGA’s operation and effectiveness to be questioned. Tourism professionals are demanding that the agency be more transparent and accountable, and that expenditures be explained in detail.
There is a need for more information on the extent to which TGA has achieved its goals and how it has contributed to Turkish tourism. The extent to which the agency has been successful in helping Turkey gain its targeted position in the international market is being closely monitored by stakeholders in the tourism sector. At this point, detailed reporting of expenditures and activities is of great importance for the reliability of the agency.
