by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Istanbul : The foreign tourist influx to Turkey experienced in 2017 will continue to increase in 2018, and early reservations suggest a growing interest from the European market.
The country is rapidly moving toward its 2023 vision of 50 million tourists and $50 million in tourism income. The decline in the number of European tourists compared to previous years is balanced by the fact that German tourists prefer Turkey in 2017, while tourism representatives that have started their 2018 sales are very hopeful for the next year. In the first nine months of the year, 26 million tourists came to Turkey, and the 2018 figures are expected to be even better, Daily Sabah News reported.
While tourism representatives who think that Turkey will make a big break in tourism in the next three years make essential tourism connections to Turkey with early reservations, Tatilsepeti.com General Manager Koray Küçükyılmaz told the Turkish Star newspaper that the company is receiving requests from Europe for early booking, adding that there appears to be a significant increase in the planning of European tour operators and demand for Turkey.
Küçükyılmaz also said the expected improvement and increase in the European market would hopefully be seen in 2018. “The improvement in the European market and reaching the 2015 figures will be gradually realized. Turkey’s destinations consist of regions known and liked by European customers,” Küçükyılmaz said.
More than one-third of foreigners who came to Antalya in the first ten months of the year were from Russia. In the January-October period, close to 9.5 million foreign tourists arrived at Antalya Airport. The number of passengers from abroad in the first ten months increased by 60 percent compared to the same period last year. In this period, the most significant number of tourists came from Russia with 3.6 million, which constituted 38.66 percent of total foreign visitors. Russia was followed by Germany with 1.6 million and Ukraine with 710,871 people.
—SM/OIC-UNA
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Istanbul : The number of foreign visitors to Istanbul rose by 10.8 percent in the first eight months of this year, when compared to the same period last year, official Turkish data revealed Tuesday.
Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism said this year, so far, 6.95 million foreign tourists have visited the city, official data showed. A 37.3 percent surge to 1.24 million foreign tourists was seen this August when compared to the same period last year.
According to Anadolu Agency, most tourists came to Istanbul from Germany (656,428 people), followed by Iran (526,084 people) and Saudi Arabia (413,273).
The visitors from Arab countries went up by 36.7 percent to 1.78 million between January and August 2017, compared to the same period last year.
Most tourists came to Istanbul through the Ataturk and Sabiha Gokcen airports, 5.45 million and 1.47 million, respectively.
The total foreign tourists were 9.2 million in 2016, 12.4 million in 2015, 11.8 million in 2014 and 10.4 million in 2013.
—AG/IINA
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Istanbul (IINA) – UN senior officials on Sunday highlighted that the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit (WHS), set to kick off Monday in the Turkish city of Istanbul, is to serve as a wake-up call for action in the service of common humanity, providing a launch pad for new initiatives, UN News Center reported.
“We have tremendous suffering in the world today. There is huge need for us to show solidarity with those who are affected by natural disasters and man-made disasters,” UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson told reporters in a press conference in Istanbul.
In this two-day conference, more than 125 heads of state and government are expected to join representatives from the UN community, civil society, the private sector, academia and thousands of other participants.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) – the Summit’s organizing entity – the goal is to strength the humanitarian system so that preparedness and resilience are taken more seriously.
Speaking at the press conference alongside the Deputy Secretary-General, the UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and head of OCHA, Steven O’Brien, said the world needs a Summit so it can make the scale of change that is necessary to help meet the needs.
Four years ago, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for the World Humanitarian Summit to be organized. Since then, 23,000 people were consulted in over 150 countries. The outcome of this global exercise is the Agenda for Humanity, a guiding document for the Summit in which the UN chief calls for people’s safety, dignity and right to thrive.
WHS calls on world leaders to commit to five core responsibilities: Prevent and end conflict; Respect rules of war; Leave no one behind; Working differently to end need; and invest in humanity.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
President Erdogan opened Turkey-Somalia Business Forum in Istanbul
Istanbul (IINA) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan opened here on Tuesday the 6th High Level Turkey-Somalia Business Partnership Forum. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, cabinet ministers and members of parliament were among the dignitaries attended the opening session, Anadolu Agency reported.
The two-day forum aims at establishing new and strong ties among the peoples of Turkey and Somalia and other Africa countries.
Delegates from 50 countries, international agencies and UN bodies in Istanbul are taking part in the event.
Turkish presidency spokesman Ibrahim Kalin underlined the importance of the business forum as part of Turkey’s engagement in Africa, which was adopted in 1998.
Kalin stressed that the sixth Turkey-Somalia Business Forum is Ankara’s latest in comprehensive aid activities towards Somalia. He added that the visit by President Erdogan, when he was prime minister in 2011, to Somalia as drought and high insecurity were plaguing the country “was a milestone in modern Somalia’s history”.
“Since 2011, Turkey has made a concentrated effort to provide the Somali people’s basic needs, [including] security, education, health, institutional capacity building, the building of state institutions, roads, ports, airports, fisheries and energy,” Kalin said.
“Compared with 2011, today, Somalia is in much better position,” Kalin added. He also mentioned Turkish doctors’ charity programs in Somalia.
“Turkish doctors have offered health services to half a million Somalis, so far,” Kalin said.
According to Kalin’s statement, the total amount of Turkish aid for Somalia thus far has reached $500 million. However Kalin added that 40 percent of the Somalia’s population still needs humanitarian aid.
According to United Nations estimates, 857,000 people inside Somalia are currently “in crisis and emergency conditions”, while almost 2 million Somalis suffer from food insecurity. Another 1 million are refugees in neighboring countries.
