Children play by a large ‘TRABZON’ sign featuring the Trabzonspor logo in the city’s public square.
The transfer of Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah to Trabzonspor is expected to draw a new wave of tourists to the Black Sea club’s hometown.
Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Tamer Erdoğan said the signing of the world-famous player brought global attention to the city. Trabzon hosted 1.45 million visitors last year, including 808,009 foreigners.
“Salah is a world-famous footballer. His transfer to Trabzon created a tremendous synergy in world public opinion,” Erdoğan said, noting the player’s millions of social media followers.
The director said broadcasting Trabzonspor matches in 40 countries will further boost interest.
“The results will be felt more clearly in the coming periods,” Erdoğan said. “We hosted 7,125 Egyptian tourists in our province in 2025. Looking at the first seven months of 2026, we see 3,170 Egyptian tourists came.”
The number of Egyptian visitors in the first seven months of this year increased 14 percent compared to the same period last year. Erdoğan attributed the rise to new direct charter flights from Cairo.
The flights launched Aug. 5 and will operate two days a week until the end of October.
“The first charter flight from Cairo to Trabzon started the day Salah arrived,” Erdoğan said.
Officials are preparing special initiatives for Far East and North African countries.
Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB) Eastern Black Sea Regional Executive Board Chairman Mehmet Ali Tuna said the flights will positively contribute to tourism.
Tuna said Salah is popular in Turkic republics, adding that agencies prepared package tour programs from Uzbekistan for Trabzonspor’s first home match in the second week of the league.
“We achieved very serious interaction in terms of tourism,” Tuna said. “The important thing is we turn this to our advantage as a city.”
