The number of tourists increased 3.4 times in 20 years

Travel Expo Ankara, the 6th International Tourism and Travel Fair held in the capital, opened its doors to its visitors. Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, who opened the fair, said, “Despite the global epidemic, we demonstrated a performance in tourism that exceeded the pre-epidemic level. The number of foreign tourists coming to our country has increased 3.4 times in the last 20 years. We reached 51.4 million people in 2022. “So we have exceeded the 50 million limit,” he said.

Stating that we have entered a new era in tourism, Yılmaz talked about his ambitious goals for the future. Yılmaz said, “We call for a tourism sector that will exceed 70 million tourists in 2028. As we move towards the 2030s, we have a tourism target of 100 billion dollars. It is a very important and ambitious target, but if we have reached 55 billion dollars this year and are creating a tourism sector with increasing added value, why not? “In this context, we have to mobilize all the potential of Turkey,” he said.

WE MUST GET A BIGGER SHARE OF THE PIE

Stating that the expectations in the travel industry for 2033 will reach a size of 15.5 trillion dollars worldwide, Yılmaz said, “It is estimated that tourism will employ 430 million more people worldwide by 2033. “We aim for Turkey to get a larger share of this cake,” he said.

Yılmaz stated that tourism is a field that allows getting to know different cultures, seeing new places and meeting other lifestyles, and that tourism opens the door to the development of new relationships and collaborations in various fields in addition to the economic value it provides.

VALUE ADDED TOURISM INCREASED

Stating that the improvement in tourism is also evident in terms of increased added value, Yılmaz said, “At the end of 2017, the per capita income per night in tourism was only 65 dollars, and it will reach 100 dollars in 2023. The per capita income per night has increased by 55 percent on a dollar basis. This means that Turkey is now very “It has a tourism sector with higher added value. I hope we will see even higher figures,” he said.