Chairman

 

A MESSAGE FROM CHAIRMAN

A deep-rooted history, with a rich background                  

Circa 1800, Ayvalık had a prime importance as a trading town and was recognized as one of the most important seaports of Anatolia’s Aegean coast, coming in second to Izmir. Whether a chamber of commerce existed in Ayvalık at the time remains a mystery. What we know for a fact is that Ayvalık Chamber of Commerce was established in 1923…In other words; our Chamber and the Turkish Republic were founded in the same year…

Being the inheritors of such a deep-rooted history with a rich background enhances our commitment and strengthens our determination towards achieving our set goals.

Our mission and goals are clearly set and haven’t changed in nature since day one: Ensuring the improvement of life quality by leading the drive for the conservation of Ayvalık’s natural, cultural and historical heritage and maximally contributing to its economy…We therefore develop and implement our projects and carry out all activities by always keeping this perspective in sight.

Here at Ayvalık Chamber of Commerce, we attach great importance to our relations with our members… Our motto is to serve all our members equally and impartially while maintaining a healthy relationship through effective communication and strive to meet their individual needs. Given that prompt access to information is a prerequisite of the Information Age, we pay utmost attention to promptly process the information and duly share it with our members.

THE DRIVING FORCES BEHIND AYVALIK’S ECONOMIC BOOM:

TOURISM & OLIVE OIL

 Ayvalık is a city of paramount importance in a special geographic location. This city exudes a genuine spirit with her rich background, unique nature, cultural potential, products with brand value, exceptional cuisine and cultivated inhabitants…These are the very qualities that naturally places the city to the top of “must-see” places.

 Meanwhile, tourism known as the service industry is Turkey’s leading sector and reached a prestigious status with 29 million tourist hosting capacity and a substantial income of 23 billion USD. It is therefore our duty to ensure Ayvalık receives her share from the sector, thus we must indispensably put tourism first while planning our city’s present and future.

 Ayvalık is the “Olive Capital”. Olive oil holds a special importance for its economy. We could easily say that olive oil is the second driving force that helps the city prosper.

 Ayvalık Chamber of Commerce set out on a mission with this perspective in sight and we are proud to be granted a “Geographical Indication” certificate for Ayvalık’s olive oil at the end of a three-year process. Our major goal was to cement the quality of our olive oil that retained a well-deserved reputation so as to realize our dream of seeing Ayvalık olive oil among internationally acclaimed brands.

We are very happy to have finally succeeded in our mission of making Ayvalık olive oil an original brand.

 MANAGEMENT WITH TRANSPARENCY & INTEGRITY,

EXPEDITIOUS & SOLUTION ORIENTED SERVICING

 Ayvalık and Lesvos face each other across the Aegean Sea… There is always a “high-speed” traffic between the coasts. We are building a commercial bridge that grows stronger by the day connecting us to the inhabitants and businessmen of Lesvos. We aim to gradually strengthen the foundations of this bridge.

 Extending an invitation to the investors to come to Ayvalık is another headline for us. This is the only way we can secure a multi-directional and permanent growth.

 We strongly believe that the finalization of industrial area structure planning without delay will change our city’s fate. To that end, we intensified our efforts and continued work in that area.

 Ayvalık Chamber of Commerce is following its own path without compromising any of its principles. Our Executive Board, Assembly and staff are on duty working in harmony with the main principles of transparency, integrity, solution-oriented & expeditious servicing…

I hereby salute all our members and wish you all peace and prosperity.

 BENHAN İBRAHİM KANTARCI

Ayvalık Chamber of Commerce

Chairman