The Turkish stand at the WTM Latin America International Tourism Fair that kicked off on Tuesday in Sao Paulo, Brazil, has been receiving great interest.

Tour operators and travel agencies, as well as the Culture and Tourism Ministry, Turkish Airlines (THY) and the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB, participated in Turkey's 200-square-meter stand under the organization of Sao Paulo Culture and Tourism Office.

Working at the Turkish stand, marbling artist Garip Ay drew much admiration.

Turkish cuisine, tea and Turkish coffee served throughout the day also increased interest in the stand.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry's Promotions Assistant General Manager Ahmet Temurci said that the 160th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Brazil and Turkey will be celebrated in 2018. He said have shown a made a strong showing at the WTM Latin America fair.

He said both the ministry and the tourism industry plans to diversify their investments, marketing and promotional activities in Latin America.

He said that the number of tourists from Brazil to Turkey increased 17 percent in 2017, and the number of tourists from all over Latin America also rose 3 percent. Temurci continued that in the first two months of 2018, there has been an increase of nearly 50 percent in the number of tourists coming to Turkey, especially from Brazil.

"We reached 100,000 in 2013 in this market and we would like to see these figures again in 2018," he said.

"Projects and mutual talks continue through tour operators and agencies. Our tourism mobility, which came to a standstill in 2013, has begun to revive," TÜRSAB Cappadocia Regional Executive Committee Chairman Coşkun Kırtıl said.

Explaining that Turkish airline companies have very few flights to Latin America and that talks are needed for more flights, Kırtıl said they must provide transportation in order to bring more people to Turkey. "Our current flights are full. We cannot find a place in terms of tourism. We will ask for it to be increased in the coming days," he said.