Spanish monarch backs Turkish tourism at Madrid expo

MADRID - Anadolu Agency

REUTERS photo

Spanish King Felipe VI expressed support for Turkish tourism at an international travel expo on Jan. 18, saying the country’s industry would recover quickly.      

During his visit to the Turkish stand at the 37th Fitur International Tourism Fair in Madrid, the monarch said Spain “deeply felt” Turkey’s pain over the series of deadly terror attacks that have shaken the country and also hit the tourism sector.

“I believe Turkish tourism will recover as soon as possible and regain its former strength,” he said.    
 
Turkey has been hit by several attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) over the past year, and the country also witnessed a failed coup attempt last July. 

The Turkish stand at the Madrid fair, which has hosted 125,000 tourism professionals and more than 100,000 visitors from 164 countries, was visited by U.N. World Tourism Organization Secretary-General Taleb Rifai as well as Spanish Tourism Minister Alvaro Nadal.      

Hüseyin Yayman, the deputy minister of Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Ministry, said King Felipe’s visit was important to show the friendship between Turkey and Spain.      

“There are global terror threats around the world. If the world does not say ‘stop’ to terror attacks in Paris, Madrid, London, Berlin or in Istanbul, then a bigger threat is waiting for the world,” Yayman said.      

Turkey’s delegation included 27 different organizations and featured destinations such as Istanbul, İzmir, Nevşehir (Cappadocia), Antalya, Bodrum and Marmaris.