Second visit exchange, Antalya

One of the best tourism centers in Europe in the Mediterranean region of Turkiye, is Antalya, in the province Belek Tourism Region. From 19 to 23 February 2024, the city hosted European partners for the second project exchange meeting, which is an important step towards promoting tourism for the elderly. This event was part of the  Erasmus+ Silver Tourism KA210-ADU-2022-2-IT02-KA210-ADU-000096966  project, which aims to gather and share best practices in high-level tourism in the three countries involved (Turkiye, Belgium, Italy) and to provide support to those working in the tourism industry to improve offerings for seniors.

The Silver Tourism project, managed by the Solco Città Aperta Consortium in Bergamo, Italy, in partnership with SERGED from Turkiye and Logospaycom from Belgium, aims to provide strong support to those working in the tourism industry to provide special experiences and offers for individuals over the age of 65. Recognizing the growing interest in this demographic, the project aims to equip businesses with the tools necessary to create memorable travel experiences for seniors.

During the event, Belgian and Italian partners had the opportunity to explore initiatives that contribute to making Antalya an ideal destination for older travelers.

One of the highlights of the event was to observe and discover the best practices for the long-term stay and socialization of the elderly in 5* hotels. They shared the measures taken for the accommodation of elderly and disabled guests in the hotels within the five-stars hospitality hotel and the measures to make their lives easier.

We have observed that the hotel has rooms and social areas specially arranged for the elderly and disabled, and professional shuttle services to meet all needs.

In the region, BETUYAB Tourism decision makers, Akdeniz University Faculty of Tourism Academician, District Governor and Silver Tourism shared their opinions and suggestions on the transfer of good practices in Europe to the sector.

Suggestions were made to make the tourism region more inclusive of tourism activities for disabled and elderly tourism, and to contribute to the socialization of the elderly by organizing daily activities outside the hotel.

We observed that the climate ecosystem, local culture and natural opportunities of the region offer very good mobility opportunities for the elderly between November and April. t was decided to continue joint efforts for these needs by discovering the existence of areas open to more collaboration, where our partners need new projects in terms of training the manpower needed by the sector and the transfer of good examples.

Another prominent feature of the event was that health tourism in Turkiye is primarily preferred by the elderly. Turkiye’s thermal tourism opportunities and the fact that it is less costly than Europe in terms of diagnosis and treatment in the field of health are among the top reasons for this preference.

Among the next steps of the project are visits to Belgium in August 2024. During these visits, project partners and stakeholders will have the opportunity to learn about best practices in high-level tourism in this country. These experiences will be crucial in creating a reference guide to assist industry operators in the implementation of proposals for high-end demographics at European level.

With the ongoing collaboration between partner countries and the forthcoming guide, high-end tourism can only grow and develop and offer unforgettable experiences to a generation that deserves to be celebrated with exceptional travel.