SPORTS TOURISM UNION IS PROGRESSING TOWARDS BECOMING A FEDERATION

As the Sports Tourism Association, our primary goal is to strengthen sports tourism in Türkiye and promote Türkiye's potential to the world by establishing standards. Ensuring that sports tourism activities are organized, licensed, and safe is our priority, and we continue to work towards this goal. We also contribute to the branding of facilities and regions. Our goal is to prove that Türkiye is a destination capable of hosting world-class sporting events.

Sports tourism in Türkiye is experiencing strong growth. We reached approximately $4.5 billion in revenue in 2023 and are projected to exceed $5.5 billion by 2025. This growth is driven by high-profile international events and the increase in training camps held in Türkiye. Football camps, cycling races, tennis events, senior golf tournaments, and winter sports are particularly driving this growth. While Antalya and Istanbul are the fastest-growing destinations, the Black Sea and Eastern Anatolia regions have been rapidly rising in sports tourism in recent years. For example, there was a 40 percent increase in events in these regions in 2023. Rize's nature sports, Erzurum's high altitude advantage and ski resorts, Kayseri's camping infrastructure, and Afyon's new sports complexes stand out. 60 percent of the events held in these regions are preferred by foreign tourists.

Based on these factors, as the Sports Tourism Association, we took a major step toward expanding sports tourism throughout Turkey, enhancing the sports tourism brand value of the regions, and establishing Sports Tourism NGOs. We enthusiastically held meetings, prioritizing regions with adequate facilities and sports tourism organizations. These discussions bore fruit, and we pioneered the establishment of the Black Sea STA in the Black Sea Region.

The Black Sea STA covers the Central Black Sea region, starting with Samsun, and will expand with representatives and memberships in the Eastern and Western Black Sea regions. The Black Sea's nature, culture, and energy will be shared with the world through sports tourism. On this occasion, we congratulate the esteemed board members of the Black Sea STA, founded on July 17, 2025, and are proud to be the first milestone in our goal of becoming a Federation.

While sharing this good news, we will continue our efforts to establish regional associations. In the coming period, we will support the establishment of associations representing the Marmara Region, Eastern Anatolia, Southeastern Anatolia, Aegean, and Central Anatolia regions. We are ready to guide any region that wishes to join us in this endeavor. They are welcome to contact us.

We are pleased to share with you the press coverage of the Black Sea STB. https://www.samsunsonhaber.com/haber/5562429/karadeniz-spor-turizmi-yoluyla-dunyaya-acliyor

https://rizetakip.com/Haber/karadeniz-spor-turizmi-birligi-samsunda-kuruldu-39555

https://www.gazetegercek.com.tr/karadeniz-spor-turizmi-birligi-samsun-da-kuruldu/178241/