ISTANBUL - Culture and Tourism Ministry Undersecretary Mustafa Isen said on Thursday that the number of Greek people visiting Turkey increased by 42 percent and exceeded 280 thousand when compared with the previous year.
The Fifth Turkish-Greek Tourism Forum started in Istanbul.
Speaking in the opening ceremony, Isen said that tourism between Turkey and Greece was developing in three separate platforms.
Isen noted that one of those platforms was the tourism platform and sea tourism, tourism investments, training in tourism sector, and facilitation of visa formalities were taken up in the former forums held in Bodrum, Rhodes, Marmaris and Kos.
As a result of those meetings, the number of Greek tourists visiting Turkey had increased, Isen stated.
Isen said that almost 114 thousand people from Turkey went to Greece in 2001 and continuation of daily excursion to Greek islands would increase that figure.
Turkish-Greek Tourism Forum Co-chairman Alexandros Migliaressis said that the initiative launched by concerted efforts of Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou and former Turkish foreign minister Ismail Cem reached a certain stage.
Migliaressis noted that they should increase their efforts with the private sectors of the two countries and thus, people of the two countries would become closer to each other. He added that they could get positive results from that cooperation.
Turkish Travel Agencies Association (TURSAB) Chairman Basaran Ulusoy said that they wanted to cooperate with their Greek colleagues and decrease the costs.
Ulusoy noted that in that context, they established Balkan Travel Agencies Association and East Mediterranean Travel Agencies Association and they were at the table for agreement.
Greek Travel Agencies Association Chairman Iannis Evangelon said that they were at the beginning of their initiatives with Turkey and they could do many things in the future.
Evangelon stated that they wanted to increase inflow and outflow of tourists between the two countries.
They would exert concerted efforts to increase inflow of tourists from America, Evangelon said. Cesme-Piraeus and Cesme-Rhodes ports would be connected as of that summer, Evangelon pointed out. Thus, he said, they would increase tourist traffic opening the door of Italy via Piraeus.
Evangelon hoped that Turkey would become a European Union (EU) member as soon as possible.
In case Turkey became an EU member, there would not be any need for passport and visa, Evangelon emphasized and said that then, Turkey and Greece would be a united destination.
Joint promotion and marketing of the two countries in third countries, development of cooperation among the tourism agencies of the two countries, information, expert and student exchange programs, 2004 Olympic games and cooperation opportunities, and multi-lateral regional cooperation will be taken up in the forum which will end on Friday.
Besides official institutions, travel agencies of the two countries are attending the forum.
(BRC-AÖ) 15.05.2003