Mumcu: Turkish Tourism Has To Further Diversify Itself And Its Vision Has To Change

SIDE - Culture and Tourism Minister Erkan Mumcu said on Saturday that Turkish tourism which started as holiday tourism, had to further diversify and its vision had to change.
Mumcu met with German journalists who were in Side as the guest of Oger Tour the same day and told them that ''certainly we don't undervalue the holiday need of people, but we think that people don't only want to make holiday. We have a great chance in Turkey. Holiday in Turkey is made within an historical and cultural environment.''
''Tourists want to stay in cultural environment. They want to have a holiday in an environment which has ties with the past and history...Therefore Turkish tourism directed itself from management-based understanding to destination-base understanding...We also attribute importance to social diversification, too. We need German, Dutch, French, Arabian, Russian and Israeli neighbours. We want to form a social environment in which we can live with them. We have projects in this regard. We prepare the ground to permit foreigners to acquire properties in Turkey,'' Mumcu said.
Responding to questions of German journalists, Mumcu said that ''we can't ignore that all inclusive system is a reality of tourism industry. We don't categorize methods of marketing in tourism with subjective criteria...But in my opinion this is not a sound system. This system is mainly seen in Mediterranean region. But I also suggest you to see Black Sea, Cappodocia and Aegean regions.''
(ÖS) 24.05.2003