Growth in Turkish tourism 'higher than expected'

Wednesday January 2nd , 2008

Officials in Turkey have expressed surprise after growth in its tourist sector last year exceeded expectations.

According to figures from Turofed, 22.3 million people visited the country during the first 11 months of 2007.

This is 18.5 per cent higher than the 18.8 million recorded a year earlier, reports the Turkish Daily News.

The organisation also found that more than half of the foreign visitors arriving in Turkey had come from EU member states.

Commenting on the figures, Turofed board chairman Ahmet Barut said they were "better than we expected" and a very positive development for the tourist industry.

He added: "It is likely that by the end of 2007 the number of arrivals will reach 23 million."

This comes at the same time as a report in the Daily Mail highlighting the country's popularity with overseas property buyers from Britain.

Turkey's second home market was said to be growing fast, especially in areas such as its south-west coast.