Turkey hopes to attract 25 million foreign visitors in 2021 - tourism officials

Turkey hopes 25 million foreign tourists will arrive in the country in 2021 after the release of coronavirus vaccines raised optimism, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing industry sources.

Twelve million foreigners visited Turkey in the first 11 months of last year, a 72 percent drop compared to the 45 million in 2019. Tourism revenue had risen to a record $34.5 billion in 2019.

Tourism industry officials told Reuters it will take at least two years for the number of arrivals to reach the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic.

“We need to reach a target of 25-30 million in 2021. 2021 is the year of crawling and standing up. 2022-2023 will be the year of running,” said Sururi Çorabatır, chairman of the Turkey Hoteliers Federation (TUROFED).

The tourism sector is targeting half of the visitor numbers of 2019, said Firuz Bağlıkaya, head of the Turkey Travel Agencies Association (TURSAB).

“The sector will experience much tougher competition in 2021. The cake is getting smaller, so those who want a slice will have to be much more aggressive,” he said.

Turkey is seeking to attract foreign visitors to the country to help it limit damage to its tourism industry, which was hit hard by the pandemic. The Turkish government needs income from tourism to help finance a current account deficit and to ease selling pressure on the embattled lira.

On Monday, the Health Ministry reported 13,695 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours and 197 related deaths.