Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Hisarcıklıoğlu, in his speech at the ATSO Traditional Award Ceremony, pointed out that the country has been going through a difficult period, “We are all suffering from various troubles in the economy. At such times, what we most need is morale. At this point, our most prominent, most morale giving city is Antalya.” Hisarcıklıoğlu assessing the state of Antalya’s economy, while Turkey average in the number of companies opened increased by 5%, the average of Antalya is 11%; the ratio of the insured employees increased by 3% in Turkey, 8% in Antalya. Hisarcıklıoğlu reported that Antalya is number one in Turkey in regards to employees increase.

- Antalya’s tourism success story

Noting that Antalya has written a success story in tourism, the TOBB President said, “Antalya is ranked 4^th in Europe and 11^th in world tourism rankings. Hopefully this year, we will reach 14 million foreign tourists in Antalya. Thus, we will break a historic record. Antalya is not known only for its tourism. Antalya also comes to the fore in industry and agriculture. In yacht production, you have become a world brand. You are leaders in fruit-vegetable-greenhouse-flower production. Thus, Antalya is very important to the economy, to Turkey. When Antalya grows, Turkey grows. If you Antalya has problems, Turkey has problems. For this reason, Antalya should always be given special care. As I am aware of the importance of Antalya, I am sure to come to Antalya every year. We keep your pulse, listen to your troubles, your opinions, then we forward our suggestions to the government together with the Chamber and Commodity Exchange Presidents.

I am immensely proud of the Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Exchange. Both are Accredited. They provide 5-star service on par with European quality. Our chamber now has a new vision and destination. Antalya; In addition to agriculture, tourism and trade, can be a center of technology, and this is the 4T vision for Antalya. These are the visions that make cities brands; enrich them and stand out in the world. Thanks to the unity and solidarity, Antalya will reach this goal. I congratulate our Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Industry again. Davut Çetin, the president of the Chamber, is my colleague at TOBB. I benefit from his experience and knowledge in Ankara. With YÖREX, an awareness emerged in 81 provinces. We realized the value of our own products. We understood that it was necessary to take geographical markers and register them in Europe. I would also like to thank Mr. Ali Çandır.”

- Works in the last 2 months

Hisarcıklıoğlu also provided information on what they have been doing in the last 2 months and how they have made proposals to the government, and gave a comprehensive presentation on the issues. In his presentation, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We told the government what we got from you one by one. We demanded the continuation of the minimum wage support. We urged postponement of SSI premiums. We said that incentives should be given to enterprises which employ short-term workforce and provide employment protection incentives. We raised employment, finance and sectoral issues. We demanded low interest loans for agriculture and livestock. We wanted to find a solution for our accumulated VAT receivables. VAT and SCT rebates came, I would like to thank our government and all officials who listened to our demands. There is a global index of doing business. A year ago we said that our rank does not suit us. We said we need to make it easier to do business. We tried. We ranked higher that 50 for the first time in history yesterday as announced yesterday.”

Stating that this period was a period of preservation, TOBB President stated: Every factory that shuts down, each factory that stops its production, is the loss of national wealth. struggling with a myriad of issues ranging from interest rates, exchange rates, taxes and different bureaucratic legislation encountered every day and said, “While there are a thousand kinds of difficulties, our only request is that the government shows that they stand with us and not leave us alone in this economic struggle. Do not leave us alone in the world of economic struggle. I'm never pessimistic. In the last 25 years, we have experienced dozens of crises and turbulences, both internally and externally. We've overcome them all and continued on. Let us not alienate one another. Hopefully, we will join together again and bring our country to the place it deserves.”