Minister Ersoy speaks on tourism targets: 'We expect 60 million tourists'

Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said, "With the policies we have implemented in Turkey, which was visited by 12 million tourists 20 years ago, we expect 60 million visitors this year. At the same time, in addition to these 60 million visitors, our expectation from tourism this year is 60 billion dollars. I would also like to share with you that we will receive a much larger share of the global tourism pie in the near future."

Minister Ersoy, who came to Karaman for various programs, first visited Governor Hüseyin Engin Sarıibrahim in his office and signed the governorship's honorary book.

Afterwards, Ersoy moved to the AK Party Karaman Provincial Headquarters and, in his speech at the "Turkey Meetings from Our Essence to the Future, Together Always" program, said that Karaman adds great wealth to the Anatolian geography with the fertility of its lands.

Stating that the great poet of the Turkish language, Yunus Emre, and the owner of the Turkish language, Karamanoğlu Mehmet Bey, were raised on these lands, Ersoy noted that Karaman is the capital of the Turkish language and stated the following:

"Turkish, our language is one of the issues we focus on the most. As the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, we are carrying out very important works to protect and develop our language. We have opened Turkish courses within the Yunus Emre Institute in many countries of the world. In this way, we ensure that thousands of people learn Turkish every year and pave the way for them to discover Turkish culture. Starting from our President's statement that 'The world is bigger than five,' I would especially like to emphasize the importance of being in every corner of the world and carrying our culture and language to those points. In the more than 20 years that have passed under the AK Party government, we have focused only on this. We have displayed a firm stance, just like our President, against the pressures of the international community on our language and culture. One of the reasons why Turkish has received so much attention in recent years has been Turkish TV series. As a ministry, we have also carried out very serious work to ensure that Turkish TV series are watched in different countries. We are one of the countries that exports the most TV series in the world after America. On one hand, we ensure that our series are watched, and on the other hand, we open Turkish courses for foreigners who want to learn Turkish in return for this interest."

'WE HAVE PROMOTED TURKEY IN MORE THAN 200 COUNTRIES'

Stating that in the past, only sea, sand, and beaches came to mind when tourism was mentioned in our country, Ersoy said, "These were the first things that came to mind when tourism was mentioned in Turkey, one of the countries with the strongest tourism potential in the world. As a result of this, the number of tourists coming to our country in 2002 was only 12 million. The revenue was 13 billion dollars. So what did we do? Under the leadership of our President and with the support of the AK Party staff, we took steps that were almost revolutionary in the field of culture and tourism. At the point we have reached, we have promoted Turkey in more than 200 countries."

Ersoy emphasized that Turkey is among the leading countries in terms of the number of excavations in the field of archaeology, and that Turkey has begun to attract much more attention worldwide with these works.

Pointing out that they are moving with firm steps towards the annual target of 60 million tourists, Ersoy continued as follows:

"As a result of the policies we have implemented in Turkey, which was visited by 12 million tourists 20 years ago, we expect 60 million visitors this year. At the same time, in addition to 60 million visitors, our expectation from tourism this year is 60 billion dollars. We know that the days when we will exceed these targets are not far away. I hope I would like to share that we will receive a much larger share of the global tourism pie in the near future. If there had not been a firm stance behind such important achievements, it would not have been possible for us to reach this point. Our President has supported us all the way in every initiative we have taken to move Turkey forward in the field of culture and tourism. Thanks to his determined will, we have become a country that ranks among the top in world tourism today."

Ersoy stated that today is the anniversary of the day when the titles of "veteran" and "marshal" were given to Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on September 19, 1921, and said, "I commemorate all our heroes with respect and reverence on the occasion of Veterans Day in Karaman, the hometown of Kazım Karabekir, one of Atatürk's comrades-in-arms and our War of Independence heroes. We will continue to protect all our values by taking care of our beloved homeland, which is the legacy of our martyrs and veterans."

Minister Ersoy later visited the tomb of Mevlana's mother, Mümine Hatun, located inside the Aktekke Mosque.

Moving from there to the Gazi Culture and Art House, Ersoy held a meeting with industry representatives.

News Source: AA