Izmir Becomes First City in Turkey to Complete Its Digital Tourism Infrastructure: VisitIzmir Is Online

The mobile tourism app, VisitIzmir, covering 30 districts, 11 categories, and 2,300 locations, is now accessible to the public. The Mayor of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, and President of the Izmir Foundation, Tunç Soyer, has stated that the aim of this app, conceived through the "Another Tourism is Possible" philosophy, is to holistically raise the prosperity levels of both the metropolitan and urban areas of the city.

With an eye toward the post-coronavirus era, the digitalization of tourism has taken its first step in Izmir, and Izmir has become the first city in Turkey to complete its digital tourism infrastructure. Thanks to the VisitIzmir mobile tourism app, which can be downloaded to a mobile phone, people wishing to travel around Izmir will be able to access information on over 2,300 locations in the city, whenever and wherever they wish.  

In an announcement concerning the project, the Mayor of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and the President of the Izmir Foundation, Tunç Soyer, stressed the aim of the VisitIzmir mobile tourism app to holistically raise prosperity levels in both the rural and metropolitan districts of the city, went on to state "this innovative project is an example of our approach of 'another tourism is possible' and is the result of the common vision of all the organizations in the city. We have taken a significant step during the pandemic era, when tourism is becoming digitalized around the world and small-scale tourism is becoming widespread. Izmir is the first city to complete its digital tourism infrastructure. Thanks to VisitIzmir, tourists will be able to visit various locations in Izmir's 30 districts, throughout the 12 months of the year. As this makes hundreds of lesser-known attractions throughout the city more easily accessible, the tourism industry and the economy of our small-holders and artisans will grow".

"We have put forth a common vision for the city"

Mayor Tunç Soyer stressed the digitalization of tourism. In mentioning the great importance of Izmir's digital presence, with all its riches, Soyer went on to say: "In today's rapidly changing and transforming world, our digital presence is very important… With this aim in mind, we started the VisitIzmir project together with all of our city's stakeholders. We acted with a common vision for the city. This project has the status of being among the first major steps of the Izmir Tourism Promotion Strategy, prepared by the Izmir Foundation. Under this project, our foundation, together with the Izmir Development Agency, and relying on the support of forty experts, worked for an entire year. Sun Express also became a partner in the project and offered its support at every stage. Beginning with the collection of data and transforming it into a comprehensive digital tourism encyclopedia, VisitIzmir is built upon a powerful inventory. Thus, VisitIzmir is a foundation for digital tourism, which presents the extraordinary richness of our city, and shows how to get to and from various locations throughout the area. As an example of our 'another tourism is possible' philosophy, the main aim of this project is to holistically raise the prosperity of both the metropolitan and urban regions of our city. I offer my thanks to all of the stakeholder organizations in this project and to all of the members of the Izmir Foundation."

Completely local software

Created entirely through local software by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality's software company, Izmir Teknoloji (formerly ÜNİBEL), VisitIzmir, which is essentially a city guide, is operational both as a mobile app and through its website. All of the content of VisitIzmir can be accessed via the website: visitizmir.org. The app, which may be downloaded free-of-charge from Google Play and the App Store is available in two language versions: Turkish and English.

2,300 locations in 11 different categories

With information, photographs and videos covering over 2,300 historical and touristic locations, the app is a guide for those who would like to discover and explore Izmir's cultural, historical, and natural treasures. Using location information, it shows how these attractions may be reached on a map. Via VisitIzmir, you can access detailed information on a wide range of locations and attractions, from the Bergama master basketweaver, to the luxury hotels of Çeşme, or Izmir's first human settlement, the 8500 year old Yeşilova Mound, museums and art galleries, or lesser-known natural areas with their regional flora and fauna.