Başaran Ulusoy, President of Association of Turkish Travel Agencies – TURSAB said, “Turkey and Italy are both among the most important tourism destinations in the World. The future seems bright for Italian – Turkish tourism relations”. Turkey is the sixth most visited country in the World after Italy. Italy has been an attractive destination for the world as well as for Turkish people with its magnificent heritage. Art, culture, landscape and cuisine are the other factors that attract foreign visitors to Italy.
Nearly 200.000 Turkish citizens visited Italy in 2014. Italy was the 4th most visited country for leisure purposed trips by Turkish citizens in the year 2014. Georgia was also the most popular country for Turkish citizens in 2014, followed by Greece, Bulgaria and Italy. Considering that the first three countries are neighboring countries reveals Italy’s importance as a tourism destination for Turkish people.
Ulusoy said that the main obstacle for Turkish tourists who are willing to visit Europe is the Schengen visa procedure. “If Turkish citizens may enter Schengen Area without visas we believe that the number of Turkish tourists visiting Italy is going to increase dramatically in the near future.”
On the other hand, Turkey is also an important destination for Italian tourists. Over 41 million tourists visited Turkey in the year 2014, nearly 700.000 of them were Italian visitors. Turkey also attracts many visitors from all over the World with history, culture, beautiful coastline, cuisine, golf facilities, shopping opportunities, congress centers, high quality hotels and hospitality.
“Turkey and Italy have many things in common. Such as they both, have a magnificent historical and cultural background. Italian Cuisine is well known in the World as well as Turkish Cuisine. Both countries attracts attention with their friendly people and hospitality” Ulusoy added.
“In recent years, there have been positive developments in politics, in economy and in tourism fields between Italy and Turkey with the efforts of both sides. We believe this trend will continue in the coming years,” Ulusoy concluded.
Başaran Ulusoy is honored by a Chevalier - Italian Merit Given by Gerogio Napolitano December 2012
