It is aimed to reach 2 million visitors in 2022 in Sinop, one of the important tourism centers of Turkey. Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Metin Suren said, “We reached 1.5 million visitors last year, and we aim to reach 2 million visitors in 2022.”
Sinop, which stands out in the field of tourism in its region with its long and clean beaches, nature parks and historical buildings, wants to get a bigger share of the tourism cake every year.
Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Metin Suren told Anadolu Agency (AA) that last year, Sinop hosted 1.5 million visitors, both overnight and one-day long.
Stating that Sinop is a city that has been able to easily reach 1 million visitors in recent years, Suren said, “We fell a little behind our goals in 2019 and 2020 due to the pandemic.”
Pointing out that after the normalization process, they reached the goal of 1.5 million visitors in 2021, Suren said, “Last year, we hosted close to 1 million visitors only during the Eid al-Adha. With this figure, we exceeded the figure we set before the pandemic. Of course, it is pleasing for Sinop to be able to reach these figures last year, despite the fact that the Historical Prison is closed and the effects of the pandemic still continue.”
Underlining that their target for 2022 is 2 million visitors, Suren continued as follows:
“We are working on creating alternative tourism routes for the new season besides sea, sand and sun. Sinop is a city with a really big tourism potential. It is not just about sun, sand and sea. For example, we are determining new routes at the point of eco-tourism. We also have historical buildings and natural beauties that are our cultural heritage. We want to present them all as a package to our visitors. We believe that 2022 will be fruitful with the work we will do. We reached 1.5 million visitors last year, and we aim to reach 2 million visitors in 2022.”
“WE HAVE AN EFFORT TO CREATE AN ALTERNATIVE TOURISM AREA WITH DIVE TOURISM”
Noting that there are also studies on the revival of diving tourism in the city, Suren said, “We are trying to create an alternative tourism area with diving tourism. With the support of our Ministry, Sinop University is carrying out a preparatory work at the point of locating the wrecks. When it is finished, it will be possible to dive into shipwrecks belonging to the old periods. In this way, we will also bring our underwater cultural heritage to tourism.”
Source: Sabah / Translated by Irem Yildiz