Turkish Tourism Sets Record in 2003

War, the threat of terrorism, stagnation in the Turkish economy and the SARS-triggered downturn in the worldwide tourism sector did not stop Turkey from hosting a record number of tourists in 2003. According to figures released by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, 13.9 million tourists visited Turkey. That's a 5.3 per cent increase over the previous year.

According to data provided by the Turkish Central Bank, revenue obtained from the tourism sector increased to nearly 7 billion euros during a ten-month period in 2003, an increase of 12 per cent in comparison with the same period in 2002. The results, however, fell short of the tourism ministry's original target of 15 million tourists and 10 billion euros in revenues.