Turkey experiences further economic growth

Wednesday July 2nd , 2008

Officials in Turkey have revealed that the country's economy is growing at an increased rate.

According to officials figures, gross domestic product went up by 6.6 per cent year-on-year between January and March 2008.

This comes after growth of 3.4 per cent during the previous quarter and 4.5 per cent during 2007 as a whole.

The figure for the first quarter of 2008 is also above the amount many economists were expecting.

For example, a poll by Reuters found that on average, experts were anticipating growth of 5.2 per cent.

This is a further boost to the country which is already aiming to boost lucrative sectors such as tourism.

According to data from the Turkish tourism ministry, the country attracted 7.3 million visitors between January and May 2008, reports Hurriyet.

The Turkish government recently said it wants to attract more than 50 million visitors a year by 2023.