Ersoy takes over the office... His first message: Tourism will be the priority sector of the new era

A handover ceremony was held at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The new Minister, Mehmet Ersoy, who took over the Ministry from Numan Kurtulmuş, also delivered his first messages regarding the period ahead.

Thanking the Ministry team that enabled tourism to make a rapid recovery after 2016, Minister Ersoy, as a representative of the tourism sector, said that in order to reach their goals they would carry out a new campaign covering not only the Ministry but all representatives of the sector, as well as everyone inside and outside the sector — including municipalities in tourism regions, mayors, sanitation workers, tradespeople and taxi drivers.

Emphasising that much better days await Türkiye in the new era, Minister Mehmet Ersoy noted the following in his speech at the ceremony:

Tourism is also a Priority for our President

“We began to make up for the unhappy results of 2016 very quickly in 2017. Above all, this was very important for us. Frankly, the new era is very important. In particular, in my meeting with our President, he told me that the tourism sector would be one of the priority sectors in this period and set the target accordingly.”

We Will Target Quality Tourists

“Our goal in this period will not be merely to increase the number of people; we will particularly target high-income tourists, what we call quality tourists, who travel to Türkiye. In other words, we will not be content with merely increasing numbers. We will target tourists who spend more and whose non-accommodation spending is higher.”

We Will Launch a Mobilisation in Tourism

“This will not be a project carried out by our Ministry alone. It will take the form of a campaign, a mobilisation, that includes all representatives of the sector as well as everyone outside it — the municipalities in tourism regions, from the mayor to the sanitation worker, from the tradesperson to the taxi driver, and all our citizens both inside and outside the sector. I believe we will convince everyone of this in this period. Only if everyone takes part and embraces this will we create the environment that enables tourism to be of the higher quality we want, attracting the tourists worthy of the income level Türkiye deserves. I thank the entire team once again. I believe that, God willing, much better things await Türkiye in terms of tourism in the new era.”

Istanbul will also be a priority in the new era

Numan Kurtulmuş, conveying his wishes for the governance of Türkiye to be more effective and successful in the coming period, said in his speech that culture and tourism, although different, are two fields that nourish each other, and that during his term he had followed up on the results of the ‘Culture Council’ held in the previous period.

Recalling that they had organised a major workshop on the revitalisation of Istanbul, Numan Kurtulmuş noted that the Istanbul Atatürk Cultural Centre, which he stressed would be completed in 2019, was, as a matter of prestige for Türkiye, one of the most important projects ahead in the new era.

Describing how important cultural investments such as the Rami Barracks and the Kuleli Military High School were continuing, Numan Kurtulmuş said that the 25 different restoration and reinforcement works under way at Topkapı Palace would also be completed in this period, transforming the palace — including the Sur-i Sultani — into the most important cultural centre of the historic peninsula.

Explaining with figures how Türkiye had achieved its tourism targets and had to revise them, Numan Kurtulmuş also underlined that they had brought solutions to the sector’s important issues.