In the face of U.S. economic threats, Turkey, Russia, China and Iran will cooperate in the tourism sector.
Turkey will welcome around 6 million Russian tourists in the second half of the year, while the number of tourists from China and Iran is also expected to double.
The total number of tourists from Russia, China and Iran are expected to cross 12 million in 2018, contributing more than $10 billion to the Turkish tourism sector.
Russia, China and Iran have all backed Turkey's tourism sector against U.S. economic threats. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently told President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that around 6 million Russian tourists would be visiting Turkey by the end of the year. Turkey has already welcomed some 2 million Russian tourists in the first six months of the year. By the end of the year, the total number of Russian tourists visiting Turkey will cross 8 million – an all-time record.
Chinese and Iranian tourists will boost Turkey's tourism sector. The Culture and Tourism Ministry has held talks with Chinese and Iranian travel agencies. The ministry said it was expecting some 4 million tourists from the two countries to visit Turkey by the end of the year. China
has announced 2018 as the "Year of Turkey." The Culture and Tourism Ministry expects at least 2 million Chinese tourists to visit Turkey next year.
The ministry has set a target of $50 billion and 50 million tourists for the next year. To that end, the quality of hotels at holiday destinations will be further improved. In the field of gastronomy, the rich varieties of Turkish cuisine will be presented to tourists. The variety of products in tourism will be increased and holiday packages will be prepared for culture, health, sports and winter tourism.
