No:95 MAY/JUNE'07 - S&M Publication ltd

“UN World Tourism Organization(UNWTO) has envisaged that Turkeywould become the most preferred touristdestination in the next 10 years,”said Turkish Culture and Tourism MinistryUndersecretary Mustafa Isen.Partaking in a conference on “Solutionsfor Turkey’s Problems”, Isenbriefed participants on the ministry’sculture and tourism program.Isen stated that they developed an effectivetourism policy by assessing the newtrends in the world as well as existingand potential opportunities in Turkey.“Our aim is to make tourism a leadingsector, effective in creating employmentopportunities and enablingregional development,” said Isen.“Moreover, we would like to make Turkeyone of the top 5 countries in termsof the number of tourists received andlevel of tourism incomes till 2020, besideswe aim to turn the country intoan international trademark,” he added.Commenting on the culture policyas well, Isen said they consideredsuch policy within the frameworkof the globalization process andTurkey’s EU membership perspective.Isen also stressed that they desiredto present culture as a tourism productand introduce Turkey’s historicaland cultural richness to the world.Oktay Varlier, Former Chairman ofTourism Investors’ Association saidthat there are positive signals thatthere would be a remarkable hike inbookings from European countriesfor hotels in Turkey this year. “Weexpect 21.4 million foreign touriststo visit Turkey in 2007,” said Varlier.“Turkey needs a more effective promotionpolicy. Long-term campaignsshould be held to boost the country’simage. On the other hand, thereis a notable rise in the budget ofCulture & Tourism Ministry for promotingTurkey in 2007,” he noted.Varlier added that there was amore positive international conjuncturefor Turkey this year.Moreover, foreign visitors who cameto see the riches of Turkey rose by19.26 percent in March 2007 overthe same period last year and reached1.9 million, according to figures fromthe Ministry of Culture and Tourism.Whereas the number of tourists whovisited Turkey in the first quarter of2007 increased over 2.6 million.Two of the 316 Roman and Byzantineartifacts, seized in a bus in Austria an UNESCO convention of 1970. If asmuggled abroad, are returned underlast year and recently returned to Turkey,are not genuine but the genuine key files a lawsuit.country returns Turkey ‘s demand, Tur-artifacts brought back to Turkey are Below is a list of the artifacts currently inworth US$100 million, said Turkish foreign countries:Culture & Tourism Minister Atilla Koc. - Lidya epitaph ( Italy ),“We cannot take more dissuasive and - Upper part of Herakles Statue (theeffective measures since we cannot USAprove that the artifacts are smuggled - Ceramic tiles of the entrance of Sultanfrom our country with concrete evidence(because they are unearthed with - Three Turkish artifacts ( Russia ),Selim II’s tomb ( France ),illegal excavations),” Koc commentedat a press conference at Ankara ( Germany ).- Wooden parts of Tatarli Tumulus‘s Anatolian Civilizations Museum . Below listed the artifacts, searched byKoc added, “in order to find the smuggledartifacts and bring them back to Tur-- Head of a marble male statue, stolenInterpol bulletin and returned to Turkey:key, we are following the catalogues of from Agora depot in Izmir in 2004,local and foreign auctions, web-pages - Head of a marble emperor statue,and some other related publications; stolen from the open-air museum intaking into consideration all the tip-offs; Balikesir’s Sarayli hamlet,and cooperate with interior, foreign - Head of a statue stolen from Kocaeliand justice ministries of other countriesand international organizations.” - Hand of a bronze statue stolen fromMuseum, the excavation area of Laodicea ancient city.On the other hand, historical artifacts,unearthed by illegal excavations andThe 26th Turkish-American Culture Festivalheld in New York , the United Statesbetween April 21st and May 21st,announced Atilla Pak, the President ofFederation of Turkish American Associations(FTAA). Several activities, particularlyTurkish Day Parade, held withinthe scope of the festival, according toPak. Pak stated that a Turkish Day Paradewill be organized in Pennsylvania forthe first time on May 12th. Pak said thatan Ataturk’s photographs exhibition willbe opened in the Grand Central, andadded that the Turkish Day Parade willtake place in New York on May 19th.Number of American tourists visiting Turkeysurpassed 2006 numbers. Nearly532 thousand American tourists visitedTurkey in 2006 bringing the number tothe pre-2001 levels. In the year 2000,515 thousand Americans visited Turkey, but that number dropped following theSept. 11th attacks, with only 222 thousandU.S. visitors in 2003.Travel to Turkey by Americans is expectedto increase with more promotions.“ Turkey is going to be enormous thisyear. Istanbul even made it onto Concierge.com’s‘It’ list of trendy destinationsfor 2007. I was amazed at the sophisticationof the restaurants and the nightclubs,”said Peter Frank, editor of onlinetravel agency Concierge.com.He added, “ Istanbul is becomingEurope’s nightlife capital, with amazingclubs overlooking the Istanbul Strait andall these great little restaurants on rooftops.The food was really, really good.”Frank also cited popular resort town ofBodrum , where a number of upscalehotels have recently opened, as “appealingto that young, jetsetty crowd -- it’sthe St. Tropez people.”