Turkish tourism sector seeks rise in local travelers

Turkey's struggling tourism sector wants to give a boost to the number of Turks traveling within the country and thus increase the share of local tourists in total numbers. 

A leading sector representative said there was a serious surge in numbers in this area last year, adding that the moves would continue to see a further rise. 

"Last year, more than 6 million local tourists traveled across Turkey. We plan to lure more local tourists to national destinations. Our aim is to reach 10 million in this area, but we know that this would not happen overnight. The share of local travelers in our European competitors is around 25 percent, but we have not been able to surpass 15 percent yet. We should see 25 percent, too," said the head of the Turkish Hoteliers Federation (TÜROFED), Osman Ayık, as quoted by Anadolu Agency on April 26. 

He also noted that more than 6.3 million tourists visited the Mediterranean resort of Antalya last year. 

"We expect a rise in this number over this year," said Ayık, adding that the country's tourism services quality was quite a bit higher than it was in the surrounding countries. 

"More than $85 billion investments were made in Turkey's tourism sector. The rise in the number of tourism investments has also fueled infrastructure and airport investments across the country. Our tourism sector has been in front of its counterparts in the surrounding region for 20-25 years," he said.