Addressing Turkish ambassadors in Ankara, Turkey’s Culture and Tourism minister Ertugrul Gunay said that despite political turmoil the country witnessed more than 30 million tourists in 11 months of 2011, exceeding their expectations, Zaman reported.
Gunay was glad to announce that for the first time Turkey has registered 30 million tourists in 2011 which is an important edge in tourism history of the country. Last year Turkey lost many tourists due to the unrest sweeping across the Middle East but the number of tourists visiting Turkey relatively increased compared to 2010.
Gunay said that the global financial crisis I past thee years has been affecting countries across the globe but the tourism industry of Turkey was least affected. Gunay said Turkey hosted only 13 million tourists in 2003 and now the number reached to 30 million today which was possible due to the progressive efforts of his government. The minister said Turkey received 28.6 million tourists in 2010 and many tourist reservations were canceled in 2011 because of the Arab Spring.
via 30 million tourists visit Turkey in 2011 | New Europe.