At ITB Berlin, Turkey works to woo more tourists

The 44th International Tourism Bourse (ITB), the world's largest tourism show, opened its doors to visitors yesterday in Berlin, with Turkey as the official partner country this year. Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay opened the Turkish stand at the fair, witnessed by German Minister of Economy and Technology Rainer Bruederle. On the Turkish tourism sector's performance this year, Gunay said it would depend on global developments. "If we see good news globally, I believe the number of tourists visiting Turkey might rise to 30 million by the end of this year," he said. He also stressed that the recovering global economy, along with specific factors such as Istanbul's 2010 reign as European Capital of Culture and the ongoing Year of Japan in Turkey, are likely to help meet this goal.