Culture and Tourism Minister Numan Kurtulmuş announced Wednesday that the number of Russian tourists this year is expected to exceed 2017, when around 4.7 million Russians came to the country.

Speaking at a press conference, Kurtulmuş said that based on data of all booking figures obtained by tour operators that dominate the Russian market, over 6 million Russians are expected to travel to Turkey.

He evaluated the latest developments in Turkey's tourism sector and Russian market during his stay in Moscow, where he attended the Moscow International Travel and Tourism Exhibition (MITT). There, he inaugurated Turkey's 1,254 square meter stall that made it the largest participant at the fair.

Within the scope of contacts held with Russian officials, Kurtulmuş said they have reviewed possible works that can be done in the field of tourism.

"A serious political crisis was experienced in the near term. However, there was no divergence simultaneous with the political crisis among the people. Its most concrete example is the 2017 tourist figures," he said.

Kurtulmuş also said they were carried out works to determine a joint cruise ship route with their neighbor countries in eastern Mediterranean.

"Likewise, we are also negotiating how we can act jointly in a study of cruise ships in the Eastern Mediterranean and how we can create joint packages in the Caucasus," the minister said, adding that they came together with 20 tour operators in Russia.