Thermal Tourism heats up the tourist market
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Culture and tourism minister Ertugrul Gunay said that Turkey attracted more than 23 million vacationers in 2007 which makes it the ninth-most visited country in the world in 2007. Mr. Gunay added Turkey was ranked in 11th place, in terms of the tourist trade. However, he pointed out that the number of tourists visiting Turkey and tourism incomes are not enough at all and he told that the tourism industry has to build on these figures and try to kindle further growth in the sector.
Thermal tourism is another new plan launched by the government of Turkey, which has been aggressively marketing Turkey as a holiday destination for some time. Thermal tourism is a lucrative market sector internationally and it is an industry based on the therapeutic and cosmetic powers of thermal springs. The Thermal Tourism Cities Project (TTCP) launched by Turkey's culture and tourism ministry in January aims to ascertain the country as one of the world’s leading thermal tourism destinations.
Turkish Geothermal Association (TGA) has stated that Turkey has the world's seventh-largest (and Europe's largest) thermal resources and has more than 1,300 sites of thermal interest across the country. The TGA estimates suggest that the country's thermal resources could cater for over 30 million visitors annually.
The TTCP has identified four main areas such as central Anatolia; southern Marmara; Phrygia; and the southern Aegean, including Aydin, Izmir, Manisa, and Denizli. Turkish government could soon be bringing billions of extra euros into the project to promote thermal sites and to develop existing facilities at home.
Thermal tourism is another new plan launched by the government of Turkey, which has been aggressively marketing Turkey as a holiday destination for some time. Thermal tourism is a lucrative market sector internationally and it is an industry based on the therapeutic and cosmetic powers of thermal springs. The Thermal Tourism Cities Project (TTCP) launched by Turkey's culture and tourism ministry in January aims to ascertain the country as one of the world’s leading thermal tourism destinations.
Turkish Geothermal Association (TGA) has stated that Turkey has the world's seventh-largest (and Europe's largest) thermal resources and has more than 1,300 sites of thermal interest across the country. The TGA estimates suggest that the country's thermal resources could cater for over 30 million visitors annually.
The TTCP has identified four main areas such as central Anatolia; southern Marmara; Phrygia; and the southern Aegean, including Aydin, Izmir, Manisa, and Denizli. Turkish government could soon be bringing billions of extra euros into the project to promote thermal sites and to develop existing facilities at home.
