Antalya shifts into higher gear in tourism with 19.2 billion liras invested over 24 years

Antalya is raising its profile as a center for major international events, backed by new roads, infrastructure projects and investments stretching from tourism facilities to cultural venues.

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy and Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum attended a road-opening ceremony in Antalya. Ersoy said projects delivered through a shared vision among ministries had helped turn the city into a preferred destination for large international organizations.

He pointed to COP31, the 31st Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, as a prominent example. The conference will take place in Antalya from Nov. 9 to 20. Ersoy said climate-related issues affecting humanity would be addressed under the political leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the social leadership of Emine Erdoğan and the chairmanship of Kurum.

Ersoy said the quality and capacity of Antalya’s tourism facilities, its infrastructure drive and the range and comfort of its transport network had played an important role in the city’s rise. He said the Culture and Tourism Ministry had invested 19.2 billion liras in Antalya’s culture and tourism sectors over the past 24 years.

The investment included 527 million liras for the Antalya Elmalı Muhammed Hamdi Yazır Cultural Center. Construction at the Antalya İbradı Ormana Cultural Center, backed by 66.6 million liras, had reached 99% completion, with temporary acceptance procedures continuing and an opening planned this month. The ministry also provided 141 million liras for eight projects under a program supporting publicly built cultural investments. The current value of infrastructure investments and support for local governments’ tourism infrastructure projects in Antalya between 2002 and 2026 reached about 18.1 billion liras, Ersoy said.

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In the last 24 years, we have invested 19.2 billion liras in culture and tourism in Antalya.