TUGEV
The Tourism Development and Education Foundation (TUGEV) was established in 1984 with goals that are aimed towards actualising the potential of the tourism sector in Türkiye, creating new potentials, increasing the industry’s contribution to the Turkish economy, contributing towards long and short term tourism policy planning, and assisting the organisation in its efforts to fullfill these goals.
According to Cabinet Council decision number 84/8256, the foundation is nontaxable. In the wake of its establishment, TUGEV has launched consultation services and joint project works with international educational institutions and foreign experts. The proposed initiatives on tourism education in Türkiye were adopted by all levels of educational institutions and broad activities were carried out with the cooperation of schools and the industry itself. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism built the OTEM Hotel Management and Educational Center in Kemer, Antalya and granted the facility to TUGEV.
Between 1987 and 1993, the center became a modern, internationally recognized educational institution focused on tourism education, which was later the reference for other tourism and hotel management educational institutions in Türkiye. Considering the international developments in the sector, TUGEV determined the necessity of organizing for destination promotion and established İstanbul Convention & Visitors Bureau in 1997, the first destination marketing organization in Türkiye.
