ANKARA: The number of foreign tourists visiting Turkey rose 24.86 percent in 2004 to 17.51 million people, official data showed on Wednesday. Tourist figures in 2003 were hit by concerns over the war in neighbouring Iraq and its aftermath. The Tourism Ministry said the number of foreign tourists in December 2004 rose 22.57 percent year-on-year to 789,188. The figure increased 22.36 percent in November.
Tourism revenues are a crucial source of foreign currency for Turkey as it tries to curb a large current account deficit, which hit $10.719 billion in the first 10 months of the year, surging 134 percent from the same period a year earlier. “Turkey exceeded 17 million tourists in 2004 as projected by the World Tourism Organisation for 2010, and has become one of the brightest and most attractive destinations in the world,” said the Tourism Ministry statement. Turkey hopes to generate $16 billion in tourism revenues in 2004, and $18 billion in 2005 under a pre-EU accession economic programme. Revenues are seen at $21 billion in three years time. In 2003, 13.7 million foreign tourists visited Turkey and spent $9.7 billion.
