ICES hosts 2012 Turkey Toruism Summit 2012

Turkey Tourism Summit was jointly held by the Culture and Tourism Ministry and General Directorate of Promotion at the Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) yesterday with a view to answer the question of how the global economic crisis will affect Turkey's tourism industry both in terms of opportunities and risks. Tourism and Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay said at his opening speech that tourism income and tourist arrivals were not counted well enough, because the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) did not consider such factors as VIP and CIP passengers, valuable articles, real estate incomes, etc. in its calculations. "Contrary to official statements announced by the TUIK, tourism incomes actually surpass $23 billion. A minimum of half of net margin error in the budget derives from tourism. This is acknowledged both by our ministers of finance and treasury. This figure is actually worth $5 billion. Once you add $5 billion to $23 billion, you could see the real size of tourism sector in Turkey," Gunay said, adding that they have initiated a process of negotiations with the TUIK regarding the issue.