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TEODER: 72 percent of the event industry can't survive without support

*** This release is originally published in Turkish.
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ISTANBUL (TR) - Erol Yıldırım, President of All Events and Organizers Association (TEODER), emphasized that the event and wedding sector is in a very difficult situation and said that they anticipate that the sector will return to normal after May. Pointing out that serious problems may occur if the restrictions in the sector continue, Yıldırım said, “Otherwise, the existing grievances in the sector will deepen and event companies will enter an irreversible deadlock.”

TEODER President Yıldırım made evaluations about the event and the state of the wedding sector, whose activities were suspended due to pandemic restrictions. Emphasizing that the event sector is in a difficult situation globally due to the pandemic, Yıldırım stated that according to the data of a study dated November 2020, the global event industry suffered at least $30 billion during the pandemic.

“10 million people affected by the restrictions”

Yıldırım said, “Activities in the event sector are planned for a minimum of 4 months and a maximum of 2 years before. In this process, the restriction decisions caused a great chaos in event companies. Also; down payment decisions, free, fun and limited wedding organizations with 1 hour caused serious damage to the sector, affiliated business lines and supply companies.”

Erol Yıldırım stated that they expect the sector to be fully operational by the end of May 2021 and said; "TEODER member company activities are more than 30 years serving in Turkey. The event sector contributes directly or indirectly to 66 different sectors. businesses linked to the events sector in Turkey constitutes a total budget of $25 billion. Approximately 2.5 million people are employed in the sector. These people can no longer bring bread to their homes. The grievances caused by the pandemic process negatively affected approximately 10 million people, including the staff and their families.”

“We anticipate that we will return to normal after the holiday”

Explaining that they, as TEODER, have made various initiatives before the state to eliminate the grievances of the companies in the sector, Yıldırım said, “We have expressed our grievances by knocking on many doors. We told the relevant government officials about the size of the industry, the volume of business and how difficult we have been through. In the continuation of his words, “We hope that our efforts will not be wasted. The dark days will end by the end of May; We anticipate that we will all return to our job. We anticipate that the event sector will return to normal after the Eid al-Fitr, according to our industry experience and the impressions we get from our interviews”. TEODER President underlined that the spread of the coronavirus vaccine is also a promising development for the new season.

"72 percent of the sector cannot continue”

Pointing out that serious problems may occur if the restrictions in the sector continue in the upcoming wedding and event season, Yıldırım said, “Otherwise, the existing grievances in the sector will deepen and event companies will enter an irreversible impasse."

Erol Yıldırım also announced the data of a survey conducted by TEODER with sector representatives on this issue. According to the information provided by Yıldırım; 42 percent of the companies in the event sector have been operating for 10 years or more. 86 percent of the sector representatives lost at least 75 percent or more in turnover during the last 1-year pandemic. According to the survey, 72 percent of the sector representatives will not be able to continue their operations for more than 3 months without financial aid. The most important public supports for sector representatives; supports to protect the workforce were recorded as financial aids and delays.

"We can start our activities with measures”

The President of TEODER pointed out that the sector can continue its activities, albeit limited, with some measures, and listed some of the measures they have developed in this regard as the association; “Wedding events can be held with a hybrid model, both online and physically. Already, employees in the sector are trained in masks, distance and hygiene. As TEODER, we are doing the necessary work for the more stringent implementation of these measures in the physical field. We can return to normal and start our activities by implementing measures such as seating arrangement, ventilation, refreshments, creating anti-contact areas and limiting the number of people in common areas.”

TEODER delegation headed by Erol Yıldırım held various meetings in the past weeks to convey the problems of the sector. Committee; Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, Deputy Minister of Interior Mehmet Ersoy, Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Nadir Alparslan, Sivas Deputies Semiha Ekinci and Ulaş Karasu, Ankara Chamber of Commerce President Gürsel Baran, Istanbul Chamber of Commerce President Şekib Avdagiç, MUSIAD President Abdurrahman Kaan, Head of Interpol Department Lütfi Çiçek and AK Party Istanbul Deputy Provincial Head of NGOs, Kemal Uyaraz, visited and conveyed their demands.