Fethiye Municipality has one foot in China and one in England

This year, the Fethiye Municipality hosted various politicians, media representatives, and businesspeople from London. Also this year, for the first time in history, diplomats from the Chinese Embassy in Ankara paid official visits to Fethiye. Participation in the WTM Fair with Partners
Fethiye Municipality, which has taken concrete steps this year to strengthen its relations with the United Kingdom and China in particular; will participate in the World Travel Market (WTM) in London—one of the world’s most prestigious tourism events—from November 4–6, 2025, alongside partners such as the Muğla Metropolitan Municipality, the Fethiye Chamber of Commerce and Industry, TÜRSAB, and YDA. The Fethiye delegation will take part in the fair, to be held in London, the capital of the United Kingdom, to showcase Fethiye’s natural, cultural, and tourist attractions to international tourism professionals. China Initiative
Fethiye Municipality has recently been pursuing an active policy to attract more tourists from China to the district. To this end, the Municipal Council decided to expand the use of Chinese and Russian on some road signs in the district, in addition to Turkish. Furthermore, Mayor Alim Karaca invited Chinese travel agency representatives to the district to bring more tourists from China to Fethiye. Various journalists from the Chinese media were also hosted in the district. Meanwhile, representatives from Trip.com—a leading online travel platform in the Chinese and Far East markets—were recently hosted in Fethiye, where they held meetings with tourism sector officials. The Fethiye Municipality has also initiated the necessary bureaucratic process to establish a sister-city relationship with Huzhou, a city of 3.5 million people in China’s Zhejiang province. Not Even 1 Lira Is Coming Out of the Municipal Treasury
Speaking about Fethiye–China relations, Mayor Alim Karaca said, “With a population approaching 1.5 billion, China is one of the world’s two most populous countries alongside India, and we are striving to increase the number of tourists coming to our district from China. To this end, our various efforts are continuing uninterrupted. Last May, we provided support for the Tourism Fair held in Shanghai. We had Chinese-language brochures prepared for Chinese tourists visiting our region, particularly for the fairs. This past summer, for the first time in history, diplomats from the Chinese Embassy in Ankara visited Fethiye. With the support of members from other parties in the City Council, we reached an agreement to have some road signs in Fethiye displayed in English, Russian, and Chinese. About two years ago, we sent colleagues from our municipality to China again. Now, we are sending a delegation to China for two weeks to participate in an international tourism seminar at Suzhou University and, subsequently, to hold talks with the municipality of Huzhou, our sister city candidate. “We will continue to support tourism in Fethiye. I would also like to add that not a single lira is coming out of our municipality’s budget for these trips,” he said. Karaca concluded by saying, “The Tourism Fair in London offers a great opportunity to showcase Fethiye’s natural beauty, historical character, cultural diversity, and hospitality to the world. Thanks to the connections we will establish with international tour operators at the fair, we aim to attract many more British tourists to Fethiye in the upcoming season,” he said.