According to the former Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Turkish tourism can reach pre-pandemic levels if the country continues to implement measures to increase the confidence and confidence of tourists.

“Turkey is doing very well. If Turkey continues to build confidence and confidence among visitors, it could reach pre-2020 prices before the end of 2021, ”Taleb Rifai, general secretary of the UK-based World Tourism Forum Institute (WTFI) told the Anadolu Agency (AA)).

The pandemic cut Turkey’s tourism revenue by two-thirds over the past year, due to the high fees incurred by advancing global travel restrictions, home-stay orders, and restaurant and hotel closings that occurred in the second quarter of 2020 have reached their peak.

Turkey relies on tourists to bring in foreign currencies to reduce the current account deficit. Last year, the sector’s revenue declined 65.1% year over year to $ 12.06 billion (TL 88.19 billion), from $ 34.5 billion in 2019.

A second wave of viruses in recent months has resulted in new restrictions on restaurants and schools, as well as overnight and weekend curfews. The economy is likely to have avoided a decline in the past year and to recover in 2021.

The number of foreigners visiting the country in 2020 was down 71.7% year over year and topped 12.7 million, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The Russians made up 16.8% or more than 2 million of all visitors, followed by Bulgarians with 9.8%, Germans with 8.8%, Ukrainians with 7.8% and British with 6.4%.

In December 699,330 foreign visitors came to the country, which corresponds to a decrease of 67.4% compared to the same month last year.

In 2019, the country welcomed 45 million foreign visitors, up from 39.5 million in 2018.

Previously, Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy had forecast Turkey with a tourism turnover of just over 11 billion US dollars and over 15 million travelers by the end of 2020.

Said Ersoy Turkey is aiming for 100% growth in 2021 at least over 30 million tourists.

Sustainable growth until 2022

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism started a Safe Tourism Certificate Program at the start of the coronavirus outbreak, implementing effective measures at airports, accommodation and beaches to contain the spread of the disease.

Thanks to the effective measures taken by the government, which has set high safety standards in all areas of the industry, tourists have been able to go on holiday with peace of mind.

Noting that coronavirus-related travel restrictions were causing the tourism sector to collapse, Rifai said even if the borders were reopened, people would not start traveling immediately due to “trust and confidence-perception” issues.

Rifai stressed that vaccinations will have a positive impact on perceptions of safety, although their effectiveness is in question.

“It will depend on how successful governments are in promoting safe vaccines and how successful the vaccine is,” he said.

Rifai commented on Turkey’s success in overcoming the crisis in the 21st century and underlined the importance of strong political will and belief in the resilience of the tourism sector.

“It’s about everyone in the world. It’s not about competition, it’s about coordination and good management, ”he added.

Rifai stressed that the world would not go back to the “good old days” in the short term.

“We may return to sustainable growth by 2022,” he said.

According to the latest data from the UNWTO, global tourism suffered with in 2020 international arrivals down 74%.

The collapse of international travel means an estimated loss of $ 1.3 trillion in export revenue, according to the UNWTO.

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