New Turkish tourism campaign to kick off in Germany

ANKARA/BERLIN

AFP photo

A new campaign urging Turks living abroad to spend vacations and hold weddings in Turkey will kick off in Germany next month, the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry said Feb. 25, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.      

The “Bring your neighbor and come” campaign will be introduced to Germany’s Turkish diaspora at Berlin’s International Tourism Bourse (ITB) between March 8 and 12.        

The new campaign was announced two weeks ago in a bid to boost the country’s tourism earnings to $50 billion, and to initially attract 8 million more tourists.   

The number of foreign people visiting Turkey declined to 25.3 million in 2016, a 30 percent drop compared to 2015, after a series of bomb attacks, a diplomatic crisis with Russia, and the failed July 15, 2016 military coup attempt, official data showed. 

Aiming to make Turkey one of the top three tourism destinations worldwide, the new campaign encourages Turkish nationals living abroad to spend their holidays in Turkey as well as bring their foreign neighbors with them on holiday.        

Germany hosts the largest Turkish diaspora in the world. Among 3 million ethnic Turks living in Germany, around 1.4 million of them are Turkish nationals, according to Turkish authorities.        

At the ITB fair, 132 Turkish companies under the auspices of the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry will have the chance to promote the campaign, tour operators, and discounts to Turkish citizens, as reported by Anadolu Agency. 

The companies will highlight popular tourist destinations across Turkey as well as activities such as mountain climbing, hiking and cycling.        

Turkish cuisine and Turkish arts such as calligraphy, marbling (ebru), and filigree embroidery will be among the fair’s highlights.