TURKEY JOINS FORCES WITH SYRIA FOR TOURISM

Hurriyet
Feb 5 2009
Turkey

ISTANBUL – Turkey and Syria will sign next week an agreement to
cooperate in increasing tourism between the two countries over the
next three years.

The agreement will be finalized by Saadallah Aghaa Al Kala, Syrian
Minister of Tourism and Ertugrul Gunay, his counterpart in Turkey,
at the opening of the Eastern Mediterranean International Travel &
Tourism Exhibition 2009, or Emitt, in Istanbul on Feb. 12. Emitt is
the biggest tourism fair in Turkey and among the largest in eastern
Mediterranean. For the first time, the fair, which runs to Feb. 15,
is featuring a so-called "guest country," which this year is Syria.

The fair will consist of approximately 3,000 exhibitors from some
50 countries and 100 places in Turkey, and is expected to attract
some 100,000 visitors. Ahmet Barut, president of the Turkish Hotels
Federation, or TUROFED, noted the number of exhibitors is up by
20 percent this year, regardless of the ongoing turbulence in the
global markets.

"The growth in participant figures shows that many in the sector also
outside Turkey see tourism as potentially the only sector that still
offers hope," he said.

New countries attending the fair New countries in the fair include
Armenia. Israel, on the other hand, is not taking part in the fair
although seven years ago it planned to attend.

"There was even an agreement that Palestine and Israel would share the
stand at Emitt seven years ago. But Israel then cancelled, quoting
security as a concern," Hacer Aydın, director of Ekin Fuarcılık,
the fair’s organizer, confirmed.

Tulin Ersöz, advisor for the mayor of Istanbul Greater Municipality
noted that one of the aims of the fair is to highlight Istanbul’s
role in world tourism.

"Istanbul, which has a history of nearly 10,000 years and an
immeasurable cultural heritage, is aiming to become a world brand. We
are not at all too far from reaching this target," she said.

In 2008 some 26 million tourists visited Turkey, bringing in total
revenue of $22 billion.
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