Turkey top destination for tourists in Europe

At a time of global economic crisis, tourists preferred Turkey over Europe to spend their holidays, World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) figures have revealed. Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Ozgur Ozaslan said that while the increase in the number of tourists hovered around 4 percent in Europe, the same figure stood at around 8 percent for Turkey. The growth in the tourism sector was expected to be around 4 percent on a global scale, he said, adding that expectations had been realized. Stating that for developed countries the increase was 3.3 percent, for developing countries it was 4.6 percent and for Europe it was 5 percent. "The growth rate for Turkey stood at 8.6 percent for the last 8 months. That means the growth is double that of Europe and 2.5 times more than the global figures," Ozaslan said. He also noted that the World Tourism Organization estimated growth for the 2010-2020 period to be 2.7 percent, and 1.8 percent for 2020-2030 period, but the growth would exceed that of Europe.