Turkishpress.com
IZMIR/ANTALYA/MUGLA/AYDIN - Turkey's tourism industry which went through a stagnation period prior to parliamentary elections, broke new records in August, it was reported on Tuesday.
Tourists from 154 countries, mainly Germany, Russia, the Netherlands, Ukraine and Israel, preferred Antalya as a destination this year. Russia is in the upward trend among countries sending tourists to Antalya. There are 182 5-star hotels and 63 holiday villages in Antalya.
On the other hand, it was reported that number of tourists visiting Aegean city of Izmir increased 30 percent in the first 7 months of the year.
Among the foreign tourists arriving in Izmir, Germans top the list, Italians rank the second and French the third. Number of Italian tourists rose 188 percent when compared with the previous year as cruise ships of Italian travel agencies prefer Izmir Port.
-BELIEF TOURISM IN SELCUK-
Selcuk town of Izmir was well promoted internationally, following the visit of Pope Benedict XVI, experts said.
Hotels are 100 percent full in the town. There is 60 percent rise in the number of visitors arriving in Ephesus Antique City and House of Virgin Mary.
Tourists from Germany, USA, Britain, France, Ireland as well as South Korea, Mexico and Canada prefer Kusadasi town of Izmir.
Orhan Kavala, President of Bodrum Hoteliers Association (BODER), said all-included system is widespread in Bodrum (Aegean) which has 80,000 bed capacity.
"Tourists prefer all-included system because of economic crisis. (But) This reduced profitability," he said.
