Turkey to launch major tourism promotion campaign worldwide

A massive new tourism promotion campaign in 80 countries starting in January will work to attract more visitors and strengthen Turkey as a global brand, said Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay yesterday. Speaking to reporters, Gunay said the ministry is spending some 100 million YTL on the campaign. Stating that this year has been a good one for Turkey's tourism, Gunay said that 23.9 million tourists visited Turkey over the last 10 months, a 13.5 percent year-on-year increase. This growth was also above world averages, he said. Gunay said tourism revenues reached $14.3 billion in the last eight months, a 20.8 percent year-on-year increase, and that total year revenues will exceed $20 billion. Touching on the global economic crisis, Gunay said work is underway for a support package to help the tourism industry weather the crisis with minimal damage.