TURKEY AIMS TO REACH RECORD HIGH TOURISM FIGURES FOR 2013
Turkey will break a new record if an annual tourism revenue of USD 30 billion is reached in 2013, as the number of tourists climbed from 13 million to 36 million in 11 years, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday.
Erdogan stated that the newly-laid Gazipasa Airport would serve at least 1.5 million tourists after the completion of the new track and terminal building, at a groundbreaking ceremony in Turkey’s southern coastal province, Antalya.
As he pointed out, Antalya is a city of civilization, history, culture, tourism, industry and agriculture. Erdogan noted that it is first and foremost a world city that serves as a window for Turkey to open up to the world.
He asserted that the Turkish government invested 13 billion Turkish Liras in Antalya during the last 11 years.
“We simply rebuilt Antalya with new schools, universities, dormitories, sports complexes, roads and houses. We will keep on with further projects to promote Antalya as a world brand,” said Erdogan.
Antalya is listed with Paris, London, New York, and Singapore as one of the top 5 tourist destinations in the world in 2012 by the World Travel and Tourism Council.
Despite the bottleneck, which even world economies such as EU countries, the U.S. and Japan are going through, Erdogan said Turkey is proceeding on its way as it breaks records in series.
Turkey is the 6th most popular tourist destination according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) Tourism Highlights 2012 Edition. The country attracted a total of 31.8 million foreign visitors in 2012, achieving a total revenue of USD 23.4 billion