Turkey gets leading UN tourism role

ANKARA

Turkey has been elected to the Executive Council of the U.N. World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Turkey received 26 votes out of 40 countries on May 28 during the 64th meeting of the Commission for Europe of the U.N. World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in the Croatian capital Zagreb, according to a statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

“Turkey, with its knowledge and experience in the field of tourism and as a member of the Executive Council of UNWTO, will strive to accomplish U.N. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development also in the framework of UNWTO and make sustainable tourism a universal goal,” the statement said.

Antalya breaks May record

Meanwhile, the Mediterranean province of Antalya saw on May 25 a record number of tourists for the month of May in its history.

The holiday resort province welcomed 76,568 foreign tourists on May 25, said Governor Münür Karaloğlu on his Twitter account on May 26.

“On May 25, 2019, i.e. yesterday, 76,568 tourists came to Antalya via air transportation. This is the record of all times for May,” Karaloğlu said.

Turkish Hoteliers Federation (TÜROFED) chair Osman Ayık said that the year of 2019 would be the “year of records” for Turkish tourism. “The figures [of tourists coming to Turkey] will exceed those of last year. The months of July, August and September will see high figures on a daily basis,” he said.

The number of tourists coming to Antalya ever as of May has exceeded 3 million for the first time this year. The number of tourists coming to the province was recorded as 3,053,965 for the Jan. 1 – May 27 period, marking a 19 percent increase compared to the same period of last year.

Last year, Antalya had seen 13.6 million tourists, hitting a new all-time high, but this year, tourism players expect the number to reach around 16 million, breaking a new record.