TURKEY’S tourism industry continues to defy the global economic downturn, climbing one place in the 2009 UN World Tourism Organisation’s (UNWTO) ranking of the top ten most visited countries by tourist arrivals, making it now the seventh most visited country in the world.
PricewaterhouseCoopers anticipates that Turkey’s tourism sector will expand by 12.1 per cent between 2010 and 2013. New investments in the tourism sector, a more sophisticated brand of tourism, wider choice of alternatives and the good value offered by Turkey for foreign visitors have all contributed to this success.
Istanbul, Turkey’s cultural and financial capital, is proud to have been a 2010 European Capital of Culture. The city geared up for this momentous event with extensive restoration work to important sites, including the Hagia Sophia and the Topkapi Palace, and hosted a plethora of arts and cultural events across the visual arts, music and opera, performing arts, literature, cinema, museums and traditional arts.
Ertugrul Gunay, Turkey’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, says: “Turkish tourism has been a spectacular success this year and the future remains bright, with visitor numbers continuing to grow. Looking ahead, we’re confident that our tourism industry is poised for even greater growth. We have also had a wonderful year hosting Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture which gave us the opportunity to showcase the city as an international capital of culture and art, whilst our nationwide tourism offering continues to diversify with areas such as culture and archaeology and activity holidays proving ever more popular with each passing year.”
The Turkish Office of Culture and Tourism will be hosting special events at WTM to celebrate the successes of 2010 and preview Turkey’s tourism strategy for 2011 and beyond, including a special press conference with Gunay and roundtable sessions with senior representatives from the Mugla and Antalya regions.