These are the worlds when the Turkish Tourism Minister was addressing challenges in Turkey this morning. The message of Turkey's Minister of Culture and Tourism, HE Mahir Unai, said at a fully-packed EMITT opening conference: Tourism has a healing effect on international conflicts. The Governor of Istanbul, Vasip Sahin, and a representative of the Mayor, both acknowledged challenges through terrorism but each claimed his city is as safe as any major city and listed New York, Tokyo, London, Brussels, or Paris among others.
The head of the Turkish hotel organization, Osman Ayik, reminded to look at Turkey's size as a country. If a square kilometer altogether has challenges, it doesn't mean the rest of the country is unsafe.
Overall, the message from the travel and tourism industry for both the Turkish inbound and outbound market was a positive one, and one of reporting record growth. The 20th edition of the EMITT trade show opened at Tüyap Exhibition Emitt Fuar, Istanbul.
Vincent Brain, Regional Director of the ITE Group and organizer of EMITT, pointed out the importance of the Turkish market and was proud to present 20 years of excellent cooperation through EMITT.
Exhibitors from almost 80 countries competed on earning Turkish outbound tourists.
Exhibitors from all over Turkey painted a welcoming and safe country for tourism that is ready for further growth in arrivals.
