Türkiye's flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY), as part of its promotional activities, is set to introduce the cultural richness of the city of Kahramanmaraş, including its traditional sticky ice cream, popularly known as "Maraş dondurma," its chairperson of the board said on Sunday.
The event on the promotion of Kahramanmaraş was organized by the company in cooperation with the Kahramanmaraş Metropolitan Municipality and the Culture and Tourism Ministry, as per an Anadolu Agency (AA) report.
As part of the program, Ahmet Bolat, the chairperson of Turkish Airlines' board of directors and executive committee, evaluated the firm's performance last year, along with its focus on promoting Türkiye's tourism potential.
Sharing the information that the company carried 85.2 million passengers in 2024, Bolat said,:"8.2 million of these are tourists. Since they also return, this actually means 16 million passengers. We measure the contribution of the tourists we carry to the country's economy as $17.2 billion."
He also recalled that back in 2003, the airline had some 65 aircraft and carried 10 million passengers, and said that with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's vision for aviation, they now fly to hundreds of destinations from America to Asia, from Europe to Africa and the Middle East. He also announced they planned to increase their fleet to over 500 aircraft this year.
"We talk mostly about Türkiye. Because it is very important for tourists with high added value to come to Türkiye. We have done 108 advertising campaigns on six continents so far. We have reached 2 billion people with these (campaigns)," he further explained.
"In this way, we are trying to increase the recognition of our country. The places of our country on the UNESCO World Heritage List are very important," he added.
Additionally, emphasizing that tourism is more efficient than goods exports, Bolat continued: "It contributes more to the national economy, and there is more employment. This also serves as an indication of why we should focus on tourism with the Kahramanmaraş delegation."
"In our long flights, we will promote Maraş ice cream in the regional flavors category. We will provide information about Maraş ice cream, and through our website, we will also have videos introducing Kahramanmaraş," he said.
Often considered the best ice cream in the country, the Maraş ice cream is known for its consistency and solid look and is typically produced using goat milk. It is also unique because it can be eaten with a knife and fork.
Bolat, meanwhile, also explained they would carry out promotional activities for Kahramanmaraş with an aim of reaching millions of people, mentioning the locations where it could be presented.
"We have promotional tours. We will promote Kahramanmaraş in China. We will bring influencers. We will have promotional tours from Hong Kong ... We plan to reach people from Taiwan and Australia as well," he remarked.
"We are transporting 85 million people. In addition to these 85 million people, we will reach even more through our website," he concluded.
