Evaluating the country’s tourism performance in 2010, Günay told the Anatolia news agency that the Turkish tourism industry’s stable growth shows that the country has been strengthening its place as a leading player in the tourism market, which is expected to reach a total volume of $1 trillion in a few years.

In that regard, he noted that Turkey achieved 3 percent growth in the field of tourism even in 2009, when the global market contracted by 4 percent because of the global financial crisis triggered by the credit crunch in the US.

“Back in 2003, the number of tourists who travelled to Turkey was 13 million. Last year, we exceeded 28 million, which is to say that Turkey has had over 100 percent growth in the past eight years,” he said. At the end of 2010, Turkey ranked seventh in the world in terms of the number of inbound travelers and ninth in terms of tourism revenue earned, Günay said. He added that Turkey’s tourism revenue was $21 billion in 2009 and that it is likely that it will come in at some $23 billion for 2010.

On the specific issue of his ministry’s strategy to secure better figures in the field of tourism, Günay said the aim is to diversify tourism destinations in Turkey and, more specifically, attract tourists from the coastal areas to inland destinations. He added that the ministry is currently developing new tourism concepts for various regions throughout the country.