Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Abdurrahman Arıcı stated, "In 2014, 36.2 million tourists and 35 billion dollars in revenue were targeted. As the Ministry, our expectation is that Turkish tourism will continue its steady rise and experience growth above the world average in both tourism revenues and the number of tourists."
At the meeting titled "Tourism Activities in Türkiye and Recommendations for Alanya Tourism," held at the Alanya Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ALTSO) Conference Hall on the occasion of Tourism Week, Arıcı stated that tourism has become one of the most important tools of development. Noting that according to 2013 figures, the total number of tourists in the world reached 1 billion 87 million, and tourism revenue reached 1 trillion 79 billion dollars according to 2012 figures, Arıcı spoke, saying, "The tourism sector has undertaken a leading role in stability and the economy in terms of its effectiveness in covering foreign deficits by providing foreign exchange inflow and its contributions to other sectors with which it interacts. Despite the state of the global economy in 2013, the number of tourists in the world increased by 5 percent and by 52 million compared to the previous year, reaching 1 billion 87 million. In 2013, despite economic and geopolitical problems, the tourism sector has shown remarkable success in adapting to changing market conditions, employment, and growth."
Stating that the tourism sector was one of the few sectors producing positive figures for the economy in 2013, Arıcı noted that Europe ranked first with a 52 percent share and 563 million tourists among the number of tourists who visited Turkey last year. Explaining that Asia and Pacific countries followed Europe, Arıcı said:
"Asia-Pacific countries are second with a 23 percent share and 248 million tourists, the Americas are third with a 16 percent share and 169 million tourists, Africa is fourth with a 5 percent share and 56 million tourists, and the Middle East is fifth with 52 million tourists and a 5 percent share. The place we will turn our attention to here is Europe, which holds a 52 percent market share."
Emphasizing that tourism provides significant contributions to the Turkish economy in financing the foreign trade deficit and providing employment, Arıcı stated that important developments have occurred in the sector in recent years. Expressing that Türkiye has taken its place among the leading countries in world tourism, Arıcı conveyed that Türkiye continued its rise in the field of tourism in 2013, despite the negative developments in its surroundings.
Arıcı, noting that the number of tourists rose to 34,910,000 in 2013 with a 9.84 percent increase compared to the previous year, stated, "In 2013, Antalya took first place with a 7.98 percent increase and 11,120,730 visitors. Istanbul ranked second with an 11.76 percent increase and 10,486,297 visitors, while Muğla took third place with a 2.55 percent increase and 3,062,689 visitors."
In 2013, the most visitors were from Germany
Arıcı reported that the highest number of visitors to Türkiye in 2013 came from Germany. Stating that Germany ranked first with 5,041,323 visitors, Russia second with 4,269,306, and England third with 2,509,357 visitors, Arıcı said, "Tourism revenues in Türkiye increased by 10.4 percent in 2013 compared to 2012. Tourism revenue rose to 32 billion 300 million dollars in 2013. Of these revenues, 4 billion dollars were obtained from Germany, 2.4 billion dollars from Russia, 1.8 billion dollars from England, and 1 billion dollars from the Netherlands."
-"2014 tourism revenue target is 35 billion dollars"
Reminding that tourism revenues are among the primary sources for financing the foreign trade deficit, Arıcı provided the information that 268 billion dollars in revenue was earned from tourism in the last 10 years. Stating that 41.62 percent of the current account deficit was covered by tourism in 2013, Arıcı emphasized that tourism is the 20th sector that stimulates the economy the most among 59 main sectors.
Emphasizing that the stability in tourism will continue in the coming years, Arıcı stated, "In 2014, 36.2 million tourists and 35 billion dollars in revenue were targeted. As the Ministry, our expectation is that Turkish tourism will continue its steady rise and experience growth above the world average in both tourism revenues and the number of tourists."