Turkey: Increasing the Competitiveness of Kastamonu Region Fisheries and Tourism Businesses

The population of Turkey’s Kastamonu region is on a decline as younger and skilled people leave for opportunities in major cities. Lack of agriculture and food sector commercialization, poor transportation, poor communication facilities, out of date or non-existent local infrastructure, and under utilisation of cultural and natural tourist assets are some of the major development challenges in the region.

The project enhances economic value add and competitiveness of local seafood/fishery and tourism small and medium-sized entities in the Kastamonu region. It does so through improving production, market conditions, and connections with new and existing markets.

The project’s expected results are:

• Kastamonu region's competitiveness in seafood/fisheries sector increase with the establishment of the Fish Processing and Storage Services Unit.
• Small and medium-sized entities and entrepreneurs receive high quality business consultancy services through a Tourism and Fishery Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Support Centre.
• Kastamonu region’s competitiveness in the tourism sector increased via tourism master plan, cluster analysis, tourism strategy document, and windows projects.