Weak pound boosts Turkish tourism
Tuesday July 22nd , 2008
Officials in the Turkish tourism industry have credited current exchange rates across Europe with helping to boost the sector.
According to the Turkish Hoteliers Federation, there has been a 17 per cent increase in the number of British visitors to the country this year.
Ahmet Barut, head of the organisation, believes this has come about as the weakness of the pound against the euro has made holidaying within the eurozone more expensive.
Speaking to TurkishPress.com, he said Turkey is now being widely seen as a good-value alternative to traditional European markets.
He commented: "British tourists who have always preferred Spain and Greece for vacations chose Turkey as a holiday destination this year for the first time."
Mr Barut added that the increase in the number of British visitors has exceeded initial expectations.
This backs up the views of Lastminute.com and the Association of British Travel Agents, which have both reported a surge in the popularity of Turkey this summer.
