Rural Development and Tourism Promotion Result Oriented Program
Rural Development and Tourism Promotion Result Oriented Program
Our agency aims to increase the welfare level of rural areas, to establish the rural-urban development balance and to increase the income obtained from rural areas by diversifying with an innovative and sustainable perspective in our region. In addition, our agency aims to promote the current values and potential of tourism in the region by constituting a brand recognition, to expand tourism activities to twelve months, to increase revenues from tourism and to attract tourism investments to the region.
Our region, which is one of the important centers of industrial production in our country, stands out in agriculture and tourism as well. Thanks to its rich vegetation diversity, forest and water assets, fertile lands and its potential and existing investments our region ranks amongst the top in the production of many agricultural products such as tomatoes, lettuce, peaches, hops. In addition, the processing of the products and the brand-registration activities continue effectively. In tourism, the region has become attractive to domestic and foreign tourists in fields such as health tourism, thermal tourism, camping, winter tourism, culture tourism, nature tourism and faith tourism by utilizing its cultural, natural and historical richness.
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Our region is home to Bilecik, where the Ottoman Empire was founded, and Bursa, the first capital of the Empire; Uludağ, one of the important centers of winter, nature and convention tourism; Eskişehir, which stands out for its museums and cultural events; forest, pond and camping grounds which are popular with campers. The development of existing tourism potentials (lodgings, highland houses, camps, etc.) and increasing the inter-district interaction will have a reducing effect on socio-economic development differences within the region.
In recent years, there has been an increasing trend in the number of bovine and ovines and the amount of milk obtained from these animals in our region. Increasing the added value in agricultural production and developing the potential of animal husbandry make a serious contribution to the regional economy. A significant increase is also observed in the amount of products produced in greenhouse agriculture, thanks to the increase in attempts for smart agriculture and animal husbandry practices, raising awareness of farmers on efficient production, and the state aids. In addition, 26 regional and geographically indicated products have been registered and the activities of organizations operating in rural areas for the sale and marketing of these products are increasing day by day with the support of our Agency.
Rural Development and Tourism in TR41 Region
The TR41 Region, with a population of about 4.2 million people, is also located in the middle and on the transit route of surrounding population of 40 million.
Our region, which is located in a geography where national and international human mobility is intense, has a serious potential to get a bigger share from tourism by promoting its natural, cultural, religious and historical values to these target markets.
The ponds and forests in Bilecik, camp-caravan areas around the Harmankaya Canyon, and areas suitable for nature and extreme sports in Eskişehir are open to development. In Bursa, additional investments can be made for winter, thermal, convention, health and cultural tourism.
In addition to Bursa, which is highly developed for fruit, vegetables, field crops production, bovine and ovine husbandry, poultry production, milk and dairy products, and the processing of these products, the fertile agricultural lands of Eskişehir and Bilecik, which are among the provinces of our region, are open to development for production and processing investments.
Since 2010, when our agency began operating in the region, it has carried out various programs aimed at developing rural development and tourism in the region. In this context, more than 100 projects were supported between 2011 and 2020.
In the Harmancık district of Bursa, an eco-tourism facility was brought to life in the district with two separate projects carried out within the scope of the 2012 and 2015 project proposal calls. There are 14 bungalow houses and a 250 m2 restaurant, as well as an adventure park with activities such as paintball, mountain bikes, hiking trails and ATV rides. This facility has performed better than expected and more than 100.000 people visited the district in 2019 alone, which has a population of 6.145 people (2020).
With the seed cleaning and packaging units that were modernized within the scope of the “Modernization of the Seed Cleaning and Packaging Unit of the Transitional Zone Agricultural Research Institute” project carried out in Eskişehir, the quality and diversity of the services currently provided to the producers of the region and the country were increased and the continuity of service has been ensured in “High Quality and Efficient” certified seeds. In addition, producers were educated within the scope of the project in order to popularize the use of certified seeds.
Many projects and activities focused on rural development and tourism in Bilecik province have been supported and contributed to. Among these, Osmaneli Municipality’s Hisarcık-Beşevler Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Processing and Packaging Facility project provided employment to women who want to join the workforce in the district. In this facility, tomato paste, quince and pomegranate delight, quince, peach and milk jam, quince molasses and pumpkin dessert are produced. In addition, the export of Osmaneli Quince Delight, a product with a geographical indication, has also been started.
Many large companies producing milk and dairy products for the Turkish and world markets operate in Bursa.
With the development of greenhouse cultivation, Bilecik has ranked first in leaf lettuce production in Turkey.
Bursa, Karacabey and Mustafakemalpaşa Plains are the areas where tomatoes intended for tomato paste produced the most in Turkey.
Uludağ, which is the most important and deep-rooted center of winter tourism in Turkey and hosts more than 1.1 million visitors in the 2019-2020 season, can be accessed from Bursa city center by cable car and conventional road.
In addition to hosting traditional and modern art events, Odunpazarı district, where the Ottoman civil architecture examples of Eskişehir are vividly preserved, is a tourist destination where Anatolian and Crimean cuisines can be tasted.
Söğüt, which has many historical sites such as the tomb of Ertuğrul Gazi, the father of Osman Gazi, the founder of the Ottoman Empire, and which has been hosting the Yörük (Anatolian Nomad) Festivals for 740 years, is visited by approximately 1.5 million local and foreign tourists annually.