İzmir provides a viable alternative in Turkey: Mayor Kocaoğlu

The western Turkish province of İzmir is not only about sea, sun and sand, it also offers a diverse range of options from health centers to food festivals, İzmir Mayor Aziz Kocaoğlu has told the Hürriyet Daily News in an interview. 

Thanks to major investments in infrastructure and environment, İzmir has become a center of attraction not only for tourists but also for individuals and businesses looking to flee the stress of other big cities, said Kocaoğlu, who is a member of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). Q: Tell us about your projects to boost tourism in İzmir.

A: For quality tourism you first need to create a livable city. For that you need to start addressing the shortcomings in the infrastructure. For the past 13 years we have been investing in the environment and we are now ahead of everyone in Turkey in this. We can also compete with many cities in Europe on the subject.

 All the tap water in İzmir is purified. When the waste water treatment in four smaller neighborhoods is completed, 85 to 90 percent of waste water will be purified by 2019. As of now, İzmir has realized 20 percent of Turkey's total biological water purification.

But providing drinkable water, keeping the air and soil clean, and encouraging organic agriculture are not enough. İzmir already has some of the fundamentals of tourism like sun, sand, sea, nature, thermal springs and history. What we have to do is bring these out to the sunlight and make them available to the tourism sector. We don't want mass tourism, or the "all-inclusive" model. We want tourists to come to visit our historic and natural sites. For example, one of the world's most important bird havens is in our province. We want people to come to visit our fairs. Health...