Adana’s journey to becoming a UNESCO Creative City in the field of gastronomy has gained a new opportunity for Türkiye. Adana Mayor Zeydan Karalar shared this exciting development, confirming that Adana has officially been placed on the candidate list for inclusion in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the gastronomy category.
In his statement, Karalar emphasized the significant cultural and historical value of Adana. “Adana is a city with many important values and riches. It is a commercial city, an agricultural city, an industrial city, a historical city and an artistic city, but it is also home to some of the most delicious foods in the world,” he said. He further elaborated on the city’s desire to join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, especially in the field of gastronomy.
“However, until now, we have not been able to include Adana in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the gastronomy category. While the city of Adana prepared the application file, we worked with various institutions and organizations in the city to strengthen it. We were included in the national list twice: once when we visited Paris and once when we were unable to make the trip. Now, thanks to the significant contributions of our governor and other stakeholders, we have prepared a special file. Our file was voted on last Friday and was accepted for Paris on Monday, resulting in Adana’s nomination to the candidate list for the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in gastronomy,” Karalar explained.
Significance for tourism
Karalar highlighted the importance of this nomination for the city’s tourism efforts. “This is a significant event for Adana to become recognized as a gastronomic city by UNESCO. We are working hard to transform Adana into a tourism hub, and we believe that gastronomic tourism, which is now one of the most important trends in the global tourism industry, will be key to achieving this goal. While Adana is a beautiful city with its history, art and natural wonders, its gastronomy has the potential to attract a large number of tourists. We hope to create a trio of gastronomic destinations alongside Hatay and Gaziantep,” he added.
Looking ahead, Karalar shared his hope for what the UNESCO recognition could bring to Adana’s tourism industry. “The next stage will involve a voting process in Paris. If we are successful in that vote, we will officially join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the gastronomy category. This will lead to an increase in the number of tourists visiting Adana, potentially attracting several times the current number of visitors. When we first started in the Seyhan Municipality, the number of local tourists was almost nonexistent, but now we are approaching 1 million. The number of foreign tourists, which was around 60,000-65,000, has now exceeded 300,000. Had it not been for the pandemic and the earthquakes, these numbers would likely have been doubled.”
He also acknowledged the impact of major events such as the “Orange Blossom Carnival,” the “Taste of Adana Festival” and the “International Adana Golden Boll Film Festival” in increasing tourism. “Our efforts to promote Adana’s beauty and culture since my tenure as mayor have also played a crucial role in this growth. I have personally overseen all the PR work that had not been done before and I will continue to do so. When it comes to Adana, everything else is secondary,” Karalar concluded.
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