Antalya, Turkey to Host 68th Skal World Congress in November

Belek, Antalya will be the host of the 68th Skal World Congress that will take place from 4 to 9 November this year.

Antalya known as the capital of Turkish Riviera, welcomes about 6 million tourists annually from all over the world. With recently built state of the art resorts, golf courses, and crystal clear beaches stretching from Kemer to Alanya, this unique region called ancient Pamphylia, has hosted many great civilizations, thus this year’s congress theme - Under the Wings of Civilization

Skal, founded as an international association in 1934, is one of the largest organisations of travel and tourism professionals in the world, embracing all sectors of the travel and tourism industry; hoteliers, travel agents, airline executives, those working for the tourism media and training for the many other branches of the industry. In the 89 countries and 480 locations where Skal exists, members are encouraged to network with each other, in line with the recent motto of “Doing Business among Friends” Skal Congresses are considered as an ideal meeting platform for the members worldwide, not only to have a fun week together but also to enjoy the privileges of being members of this prestigious organisation.

Many exciting events, social functions and important networking opportunities are planned for the Congress.

One of the important highlights of the Congress will again be the Ecotourism Awards Ceremony that will take place during the Opening Ceremony on Monday, 5 November in the presence of all the participants, local dignitaries and representatives of the media. Skal International, following the United Nations declaration of 2002 as the Year of Ecotourism and the Mountains, launched the Skal International Ecotourism Awards to highlight and recognise global best practices. Skal supports sustainable development in tourism as the key to the industry’s future success and considers Ecotourism as one of the main areas of sustainable development. The awards will be presented by the President of Skal International, Ms. Litsa Papathanassi.

In line with the President’s theme of “Sustainable Development in Tourism”, Mr. Stefanos Fotiou from UNEP will conduct an interactive workshop on sustainable development on Tuesday, November 6th which is open to all participants.

The workshop on Sustainable Development in Tourism, will be followed by the Business to Business (B2B) workshop. The General Assembly will be split over two days, Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 November. A special Talent Show and an exhibition are being organised to display the talents of Skalleagues from around the world. All in all it promises to be an action-packed and fun congress.

The 68th World Congress will be the third Skal Congress organized in Turkey, after the 1970 and 1993 Istanbul Congresses.

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