Turkey is aiming to explore new markets in Far East countries, as part of its strategy to become a top three tourism destination, the country’s culture and tourism minister said on Thursday.
"We are determining three major strategies. One of them is to explore new markets in Far East countries such as China, India, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia,” Numan Kurtulmuş told Anadolu Agency’s Editors’ Desk.
He asserted that the Far Eastern countries were "long forgotten" in tourism and said Turkey is aiming to "open up new doors".
“In India there is a 350 million middle-class population, which is an enormous power with newly flourished, great purchase value. In China, there is over 300 million middle-class population. Thus we will enhance our relations with these countries," he said.
Kurtulmus also reminded that it will be the "year of Turkey" in China during 2018 with 50 events planned.
Turkey is currently ranked sixth in the tourism sector and the country displays a performance that could place it among top three destinations in the next 10 years, the minister said.
"We will increase our support by 20 percent to some countries, where we could attract tourists from... Through the decision would be taken by the Cabinet in early November, we will allow early reservation opportunity for tourism operators bringing foreign tourists," Kurtulmuş said.
"World economy is growing by 2.5 percent each year, while tourism sector is growing by 3.1 percent. In the next 10 years, tourism sector is likely to grow 3.9 percent when considering the current numbers," he added.
