Turkey to reopen all tourism facilities as of July: Minister

ANKARA- Anadolu Agency

As of July, Turkey will resume all those tourism facilities planned to be reopened as part of the normalization process, said the country’s culture and tourism minister on June 10.

Speaking to CNN Turk, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy commented on the revival of tourism in the country.

"In tourism, there is no other country that has done certification better and more reliable than Turkey," the minister said. 

Emphasizing that Turkey needs to adapt to a new normal, the minister talked about the new measures that the country’s hotspot airports will take. 

"As of today, tourists from Germany will come to Turkey. When foreign visitors come, they will be health-checked, and body temperatures will be measured. If there is a suspicion, tourists will be taken for a PCR test. These measurements will start in Antalya, Bodrum, Dalaman, Izmir, Istanbul airports, the country's provinces with the most tourist attraction," Ersoy said. 

The country's main priority in this process is to resume air traffic to all countries, according to the minister.

"We are hoping to increase air traffic in July,” he said, adding the process of opening air traffic for most countries in the world would complete in August. 

“We have sent letters to at least 60 countries which provide most tourists to Turkey. We have informed them of Turkey's tourism certification program, and our enhanced hospital infrastructures," he added.

To a question about the reopening of Hagia Sophia for worship, Ersoy said: "If the court decision comes through [to open Hagia Sophia for worship], I will not be worried about tourism, we will find a solution." 

Hagia Sophia, called by historians the Eighth Wonder of the World, is one of the most-visited museums in the world and a gem of architectural history.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stated his intent to restore Hagia Sophia’s mosque status, and recently allowed a special Quran reading there.