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Turkey: Emerging as a Value-based Destination AmidstEconomic Slowdown

2009 promises to be a year of heavy tourism promotion for Turkey despite the global economiccrisis. A massive new tourism promotion campaign in 80 countries starting in January will work toattract more visitors and stren gthen Turkey as a global brand. 1

- Guven Tasbasi, director general for promotion in the Ministry of Culture andTourism, in 2009.

The Turkish tourism sector will ultimately be positively affected by the [economic] crisis. Peoplewill continue going on holiday, but now, instead of going to Italy or Spain and paying a lot more

for worse service, people will choose to come to Turkey. 2

- Hacer Aydin, Director, Eastern Mediterranean Tourism Fair 3 (EMITT), in 2009.

TURKEY- QUEEN OF THE MEDITER RANEAN

In 2008, despite the global economic recession4, tourist arrivals in Turkey increased by around12.5% to 26.2 million from 23.3 million in 2007.5 The heavy inflow of tourists during this periodwas mainly attributed to the affordability factor as cost conscious tourists considered Turkey agood value destination compared to the traditionally expensive options. According to analysts, thetourism sector in Turkey was one of those showing the greatest progress in the world and the keyto the continued attraction that the country held for visitors was the careful coordination betweenmarketing and planning of the rich tourism resources of the country. Commenting on the growth ofthe tourism sector in Turkey, Ibrahim Yazar (Yazar), a bureaucrat in the Turkish Ministry ofCulture and Tourism (MoT), said,The number of foreign tourists visiting Turkey rose 13 percentin 2008 when compared to the previous year. No other country in the world has enjoyed such anincrease in the number of tourists being received. Turkish tourism will grow 10 percent in 2009.6

1 UAE Agency Wins Turkey Tourism Contract, www.tradearabia.com, February 9, 2009.2 Turkish Tourism Sector Emerging from Crisis Stronger, www.traveldailynews.com, February 2, 2009.3 The 13th annual International Eastern Mediterranean Tourism Fair was held between February 12 and 15,

2009, in Istanbul. Considered the most important travel and tourism fair in the Eastern Mediterraneanregion, it featured exhibitors from more than 55 countries.

4 The global economic crisis began in July 2007 due to a loss in the value of securitized mortgages in theUS resulted in a liquidity crisis. The reasons attributed for the downfall of the economy were collapse ofthe US mortgage market that led to the bursting of the housing bubble in the US, soaring commodity prices, and stock market volatility. In September 2008, the crisis deepened, as stock markets crashedworldwide, large financial institutions collapsed, and several mortgage lenders and insurance companieswent bankrupt.

5 Promotional Campaigns Boosting Tourists Flow in Turkey, www.rncos.com, March 27, 2009.6 Turkish Tourism to BoomIn spiteof Financial Crisis, www.turkishweekly.net, March 2, 2009.

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Turkey, officially called the Republic of Turkey, is a transcontinental Eurasian country stretchingacross the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeasternEurope. Analysts said it was its strategic location amidst Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle Eastthat made it one of the most preferred tourist destinations across the world. The country attracts

visitors with its churches, palaces, mosques, museums, historical, and natural sites. Over the years,the tourism sector in Turkey has experienced rapid growth and has constituted an important part ofthe economy of towns and cities. Apart from sea-sand-sun tourism, Turkey offers alternative formsof tourism such as winter, highland and health tourism, as well as nature sports which are very popular in the country. Experts are of the opinion that easy accessibility and good connectivitywith other countries have played an important role in encouraging tourist arrivals.In the first quarter of 2009, to promote tourism in the country, the MoT of Turkey carried out aseries of promotional campaigns in several countries including North America, the EasternEuropean countries, and the Middle East.The campaigns focused on Turkeys tourism potentialinternationally and the tourism options available in the country. Recognizing the importance oftourism to the Turkish economy, in 2007, the MoT announced a long-term tourism strategy up to2023. One of the objectives of the strategy was to attract 40 million visitors by creating seventourist development corridors, nine cultural and tourism zones, ten tourism cities, and nine marinas by 2013. It aimed to attract a smaller and more elite group of tourists rather than a large crowd.Conferences, boutique hotels, hunting, scuba diving, golfing, yachting, and mountain climbingwere the important elements included in Turkeys Tourism Strategy 2023. Analysts were of theopinion that if the strategy was implemented successfully, Turkeys tourism sector would be ableto contribute to the economy in every season of the year.However, analysts also pointed out that the tourism industry in Turkey was plagued by politicaland economic problems. The ongoing global economic crisis and the terrorist attacks by Kurdishinsurgents might affect the tourism prospects in the country, they said. But officials from MoTwere confident that Turkey would weather the economic crisis better than other countries.According to Hacer Aydin (Aydin), director of EMITT, Everyone was expecting a crisis. This isgoing to be a kind of natural selection. We are used to this. We are not the US or the UK. We havecrisis-handling abilities in our blood. We are in many ways like water: If you put it into a cup ittakes the cups shape immediately.7

BACKGROUND NOTE

Turkey, generally referred toas the the cradle of civilization,8 was established in the 1920s byMustafa Kemal Ataturk 9. It is a vast country with incredible landscapes bordered by four differentseas. It boasts of a rich historical and cultural heritage and natural beauty. Spanning the continentsof Europe and Asia, Turkeys strategic location has helped it become one of the major touristdestinations in the region. Considered as a great destination for beach holidays, Turkey offers areliable climate, beach resorts, archeological and historical sites, good quality accommodation,varied cuisine, water sports, and land-based activities - and all at a reasonable cost. Besides thesea-sand-sun tourism, the tourism sector of Turkey has growth potential for alternative forms oftourism such as winter, highland, and cultural and health tourism (Refer to Exhibit I for a snapshotof Turkey). Tourism is vital to Turkey as is evident from the fact that it accounted for 10% ofemployment and vast proportion of revenue as of 2007.10 The tourism logo of Turkey features a

7 Turkish Tourism Sector Emerging from Crisis Stronger, www.traveldailynews.com, February 2, 2009.8 Turkey is popularly calledthe cradle of civilization as it has been home to different civilizations, races,

cultures, and religions since 6500 BC.9 Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was a Turkish army officer. He was the founder of the Republic of Turkey as well

as its first President.10 Turkeys Tourism Encourages Property Investors, http://edisonford.mbatestsite.co.uk, April 10, 2007.

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tulip bent sideways. Analysts say a tulip was used in the logo because it was native to Turkey andwas later exported to European countries where it became very popular (Refer to Exhibit II for thelogo of Turkey tourism).According to analysts, the unique selling propositions of Turkey are its history, culture, scenic beauty and people who are friendly and warm. Turkey is a favorable tourist destination as it can fitany traveler s budget and it is one of the few places in the world which offers such a variety oftourist attractions, they said. Turkey has a vast wealth of cultural monuments including the ancientcities of Ephesus and Troy, the mosques and Byzantine churches of Istanbul, chimney rockformations of Cappadocia, the House of the Virgin Mary, thermal springs, wild cave systems, andtree house resorts.Turkeys chief asset is its long coast line along the Aegean and Mediterraneanseas which boasts of international tourism centers such asBodrum, eme, Marmaris, andAntalya. Istanbul, one of theworlds biggest metropolitan cities, is the heart of Turkish economic,commercial, and social life.

Good air connectivity makes it easy for tourists to reach Turkey from all major places around the

world thereby increasing tourist arrivals to the country. Analysts said that one of the key appeals ofa holiday in Turkey was affordability as the country was not part of the euro zone and hadremained relatively unaffected by the performance of the British pound against the euro. Known asa value for money destination, accommodation is affordable and the cost of living low. Manyforeign nationals mainly Britons, Germans, and Greeks own properties in Turkey, predominantlyalong the Mediterranean and Aegean coastlines.

According to analysts,Turkeys tourism industryhad taken a long time to develop and until themid-1980s, there was no major progress made in the tourism sector. In 1980, around 1.3 milliontourists arrived in the country, bringing in only US$ 326 million as tourism receipts.11 Expertsopined that the low tourism income was mainly because of declining incomes in Europeancountries, increased competition from other Mediterranean destinations, and lack of proper tourismmarketing. The government too did not pay special attention to the tourism sector nor did itundertake any major initiative to promote tourism in the country, they said.

The tourism sector in Turkey began to make impressive progress in the second half of the 1980s,mainly because of the support from the government. According to experts, the governmentrealized that the tourism sector was a potential source of revenue for the country and began to promote mass tourism. During the 1990s, in order to boost tourism in Turkey, the governmentinvested in transport infrastructure, offered incentives to investors in tourism including long-termgrants of government-owned land at lower rents, import rights, the right to employ foreign staff,and tax exemptions. As a result, the tourism industry boomed. In 1997, the tourism sector ofTurkey recorded 9.7 million visitors with US$ 7 billion of receipts.12 Over the years, tourist

arrivals to Turkey grew steadily as the country opened up new avenues and improved accessibility.In 2000, the income generated from tourism increased greatly and remained at high levels afterthat. Tourism income generated from both domestic and foreign visitors increased from US$ 12 billion in 2002 to US$ 16.8 billion in 2006. In 2007, more than 23 million foreign tourists visitedTurkey, a 50% increase when compared with only 13 million visitors in 2002.13

11 Justin Huggler, Special Report: Turkey: Tourisms Faltering Success, www.independent.co.uk, June 26,1998.

12 Justin Huggler,Special Report: Turkey: Tourisms Faltering Success, www.independent.co.uk, June 26,1998.

13 http://www.us-istanbul.com/pdfs/reports/turkey/turkey_tourism.pdf

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In 2005, Turkish tourism was aggressively marketed and promoted. Turkey participated in 87tourism fairs across 40 countries. It registered a 241.4% increase in the number of foreign touristarrivals between 1990 and 2005 - the highest growth among OECD countries.14,15 The number offoreign tourists coming to Turkey increased from less than 10 million in 2000 to more than 21

million in 2005, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TK). Between 2002 and 2005,Turkey was among the worlds top 10 destinations as the annual number of visitors grew from12.8 million to 21.2 million. In 2005, it was among the top five tourism markets globally. Istanbulwas named as the fourth best city in Europe in November 2005 byCond Nast Traveler 16, in itsannual Worlds Best Readers Poll.According to a report by the Organization of TourismJournalists and Writers17 (TUYED), barring the year 1999, Turkeys tourism income and thenumber of incoming tourists had increased at an annual rate of 10% between 1997 and 200718 (Refer to Table I for Tourism Income and Tourist Arrivals between1999-2005).

Table I

Tourism Income and Tourist Arrivals: 1999-2005

Years Income inmillion US$

Arrivals

1999 5.203,0 7,487,285

2000 7.636,0 10,412,000

2001 10.066,5 11,618,969

2002 11.900,9 13,256,028

2003 13.203,1 14,029,558

2004 15.900,0 17,517,610

2005 18.611,0 21,122,789

Source: http://www.ddf.com.tr

DECLINE IN 2006 AND SUBSEQUENT REVIVAL

However, in 2006, the number of tourists and tourism income decreased by 6.5% and 9.8%respectively. The number of visitors declined to 19 million and tourism receipts decreased to US$12.5 million. The drop was attributed to a series of unfortunate events such as the bird fluoutbreak, the explosion by terrorists in Antalya, and the crisis related to the caricatures of theProphet Mohammed19. In addition to this, the overvaluation of the Turkish Lira20, infrastructure

14 The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organizationcomprising 30 member countries committed to democracy and development of market economy. The aimof these countries is to support economic growth, boost employment, raise living standards, and assistother countries in economic development.

15 Turkey Plans to Regain Tourism Ground, www.turkishdailynews.com.tr, May 2, 2007. 16 Cond Nast Traveler is an American magazine published by Cond Nast Publications.17 The Organization of Tourism Journalists and Writers (TUYED) is an association of journalists, writers,

editors, reporters, and researchers who report on the developments in the Turkish tourism industry.18 Turkeys Tourism in 2007: Think Positive, www.turkey-now.org, February 16, 2007.19 The cartoon incident happened in 2006 when a Danish newspaper carried 12 cartoons of Prophet

Mohammad (the founder of the religion of Islam) including one which showed him with a bomb in histurban. This led to an uproar in the Muslim world, including Turkey, and widespread protests andincidents of violence condemning the cartoons were reported.

20 As on August 2009, 1 Lira was approximately equal to US$ 0.683 (or) 0.405.

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problems, and intense competition contributed to the drop in tourism revenues in Turkey.According to a report released by Business Monitor International (BMI)21, In line with the fall inforeign tourist arrivals, international tourist receipts declined in 2006 by around four per cent year-on-year to $18.6 billion. This followed a near 15 per cent year-on-year rise in international tourist

receipts in the previous year. While the country has repeatedly seen annual increases in the numberof visitors of 10 per cent 15 per cent over the past 15 years, there have been several significantreversals in growth, such as during the 1991 Gulf War, which saw arrivals fall by more than 20 percent, and the 2003 Gulf War.22 Though Turkey experienced a sharp downturn in arrivals in 2006, it recovered strongly in 2007. Afavorable exchange rate and a waning of fears about terrorism helped to stimulate demand. Inorder to revive the image of the tourism industry, the Turkish government came out with somenew advertising campaigns in 2007 depicting the concept of peace rather than beauty. The touristoperators used pictures of people instead of the Turkish landscape and monuments in advertisingmaterial. According to Hasan Zongur, Director of the Turkish Cultural and Tourism office in theUS, [The situation] is getting better, but after 9/11, tourism numbers dropped. For this year, it is

getting better. This is mainly because of our public relations activities and promotional campaignscarried out in the US market and in the South American countries and Canada.23,24

Gradually, with extensive promotion, the tourism sector in Turkey recovered from the setbacks. In2007, Turkeys annual revenues from the tourism sector ranged between US$ 16 million and US$18 million and the sector provided indirect employment to 2.5 million people. In March 2007, thenumber of foreign tourists visiting Turkey reached nearly 1,100,000, a 19.3% increase whencompared to 2006.25 In the rankings of the Worlds Top Tourist destinations in terms ofinternational tourist arrivals and international tourism receipts in 2007, Turkey occupied ninth position and tenth positions respectively (Refer to Exhibit III for country-wise ranking based onInternational Tourism receipts between 1995 and 2007).

Turkey focused on regional advertising rather than countrywide strategies. Talking about thestrategy, Oktay Varler (Varler), Honorary President of the Turkish Tourism InvestorsAssociation (TYD), said, Our main strategy for increasing tourism going forward should bedestination based advertising programs. Through using such strategies, people will leave the badmemories of assassins, bombings, and terrorist events behind and they will be able to assess eachregion based on their respective qualities. The budget of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism(Ministry) increased from $70 million to $120 million. A significant amount of this money should be allocated to regional advertising.26 In the years 2008 and 2009, the MoT began investingheavily in the tourism sector. In 2009, the total budget allocated by the MoT region-wise was US$45 million (Refer to Exhibit IV forb udget distribution for the year 2009).

21 Business Monitor International (BMI) is a UK-based leading print and online publisher of specialist business information on global emerging markets. Its customers and clients span more than 130 countriesworldwide.

22 Leah Bower, Kurdish Problem Takes Toll on Turkeys Tourism, http://archive.gulfnews.com, October30, 2007.

23 The September 11 attacks often referred to as nine-eleven were a series of coordinated suicide attacks bymilitant group Al-Qaeda upon the US in 2001.

24 Leah Bower, Kurdish Problem Takes Toll on Turkeys Tourism, http://archive.gulfnews.com, October30, 2007.

25 Turkey Plans to Regain Tourism Ground, www.turkishdailynews.com.tr, May 2, 2007.26 Turkey Plans to Regain Tourism Ground, www.turkishdailynews.com.tr, May 2, 2007.

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In order to promote Turkey as a favorable tourist destination, the MoT launched a series ofadvertising campaigns in several countries. The aim of the campaigns wasto raise Turkeys profile in the global tourism market and to boost its tourism industry (Refer to Exhibit V for key elementsof Turkeys promotional strategy).

PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGNS

In January 2009, a massive tourism promotion campaign was launched by the MoT in 83 countrieswith the aim of attracting more visitors and strengtheningTurkeys position as a globaltourism brand. The objective of the campaign was to increase tourist arrivals by 10% and tourist revenue by 12% by the end of 2009. The other goals of the campaign were to expand Turkeys marketshare in the main markets, to expand the demand for tourism all around the year, and to positionTurkey and destinations such as Istanbul as a preferred alternative for short holiday breaks.To design the promotional campaigns, advertising agencies were selected in different countriesthrough a tendering process. As part of the process, advertising agencies from around the worldsubmitted their bids for different regions like America, Europe, the Middle East & North Africa(MENA), and the Far East & India. On December 18, 2008, the Turkish MoT organized a pressconference to announce a list of advertisement agencies that had been selected to promote Turkeyabroad in 2009 (Refer to Table II for the list of promotional agencies region wise).

Table II

Promotional Agencies (Region wise)

Country Agency

Northern andSouthern America

YK Agency Founded in 1985 yk Agency is a full service globaladvertising agency. Some of its clients include Danone, Procter &Gamble, MediaCat, and Halkbank.

Europe, Germany,Austria

Best Werbeagentur Founded in 1989, it is one of the leadingadvertising agencies in Germany specializing in creative design and text, production, direct marketing, and public relations.

Russian Federation,Ukraine

Iconisus L&Y It is a US-based advertising and graphic design agency providing visual solutions to entertainment and corporate based markets.

Europe, MiddleAsia Republics,Balkans

dDf International The Dream Design Factory (dDf) established in 1993,is a full service advertising agency design specializing in communicationdesign.

The Middle East,

Northern Africa

Medium Rare Advertising LLC / Inbar Consortium Medium Rare is a

branding and advertising boutique agency based in Dubai.The Far East, India B-Tops Advertising Based in Ghuangzhou, B-Tops is a creative ad

agency.

Compiled from various sources

As part of the promotional campaigns, the MoT launched a series of television commercialstargeted at international travelers. These commercials reflected the nature, culture, history,lifestyle, and hospitality of the country. Along with the TV commercials, the MoT released fivedifferent destination films featuring Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia, Cappadocia, the TurquoiseCoast, and Antalya. Outdoor campaigns were launched near locations such as fast food restaurants,movie theaters, the airport road, railway stations, shopping centers, buses, bus stops, sport centers,

opera and ballet houses, art gallery entrances, museum entrances, faades, and the surroundings of

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international buildings. To promote the tourism diversity of the country, the MoT published anddistributed 14 new booklets on topics which highlighted the potential for windsurfing and birdwatching in Turkey. Some of the destinations promoted in the booklets were Istanbul, Ankara,Antalya, Denizli, Izmir, Canakkale, and Bursa. The campaign was introduced in cities around the

world with news and advertisements showcasing Turkish tourism and culture.The MoTs promotional initiatives in some of the key markets such as North America,the MiddleEast, the UK, Russia, and other countries are discussed here:NORTH AMERICA

Between January and September 2004, American arrivals in Turkey increased by 47.41%, up bymore than 100,000 visitors. Experts opined that the growth in the number of Americans travelingto Turkey could be largely attributed to the aggressive advertising and public relations campaignsintroduced by the MoT.To design a new campaign for promoting Turkeys tourism in North America, the MoT awardedYK Agency and Global Advertising Strategies27 the creative, media buying, and planning

advertising contract. The contract was awarded after a review of more than 50 creative and 20media agencies worldwide.In March 2009, to promote Turkey as a tourism destination, the YK Agency launched acomprehensive campaign calledUnlimited Turkey in North America.According to Necatizkan, Managing Director of the YK Agency, Throughout the ad pitch process we conductedan intensive analysis, and we found that every global traveler is seeking authentic travelexperiences. According to WTO trends, there has been a switch into this `authentic` focus. Turkeyhas a unique brand that provides an ultimate blend of a wide range of experiences and our creativeconveys this through an all encompassing word Unlimited.28 The campaign targeted the experienced traveler in the US, Canada, and Mexico. The strategy behind this new campaign was to reach those who preferred traveling to the Mediterranean region

by presenting Turkey as a diversified destination with modern cities, beaches, and historicallandmarks (Refer to Exhibit VIfor images of the Unlimited Turkey campaign). Talking aboutthe reason behind the launch of the campaign, Hasan Zongur (Zongur), Director for TurkishCulture and Tourism in New York, said, We chose the YK Agency, Global AdvertisingStrategies, and MSilver PR 29 as our agency partners for their deep understanding of Turkey, itsdiversity and its culture, as well as the great synergies among them. We also chose to launch thiscampaign in the U.S. market because we believe that Turkey is the perfect destination that provides everything that American travelers seek authentic experiences, extensive history,diverse culture,and matchless nature.30 The first series of ads related to theUnlimited Turkeycampaign were launched in the first weekof April 2009. The ads featured the landscapes of Turkey,the countrysdiversity, and culture. As part of the campaign, billboards were installed in major markets and prominent outdoor locationsin North America. Advertisements related to the campaign appeared on television, in nationwideglossies, the travel sections of leading dailies, travel trade media, and even on double decker busesas full bus wrap31 displays. Commenting on the campaign, Zongursaid, This integrated campaign

27 Global Advertising Strategies is a US-based international full service marketing, advertising, andinteractive agency.

28 Turkey Chooses the YK Agency and Global Advertising Strategies to Launch its Visit TurkeyTourism Campaign Throughout North America, www.reuters.com, March 24, 2009.

29 M. Silver Associates Inc. is a full-service marketing communications and public relations agencyspecializing in travel, tourism, the hospitality industry, and luxury lifestyle sectors.

30 Turkey Chooses the YK Agency and Global Advertising Strategies to Launch its Visit TurkeyTourism Campaign Throughout North America, www.reuters.com, March 24, 2009.

31 The full bus wrap is an exterior display with colorful graphics appearing on the entire bus.

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will position Turkey as the go-to destination for anyone wishing to experience the history andallure of European culture. Turkeys tourism product is composed of harmonious, compatiblecomponents which appeals to all types of travelers. Our destination offers some of the finest beaches, mountains, and cities such as Istanbul, Cappadocia, Antalya, Mt. Ararat, and the BlackSea region.32 In June 2009, the US public TV channel, PBS, aired a show on prime time promoting Cappadocialocated in central Turkey. The show featured the underground cities in Cappadocia and focused onthe pottery and weaving shops and the hospitality of people in that region. According to TheOffice of Turkish Tourism in New York, the show meant to advertise Turkey was worth aroundUS$ 3 million.THE MIDDLE-EAST

In 2009, Medium Rare Advertising LLC (Medium Rare)33was entrusted with the responsibility of promoting Turkey as a tourist destination in the MENA region for the third consecutive year afterit had bagged the tender for the Turkish Tourism Campaign. Experts were of the opinion thatMedium Rare was able to secure the bid for the MENA region following two successful years of

developing campaigns that increased visitors to Turkey. According to Cumhur Guven Tasbasi, theDirector General for Promotion at MoT,During the last two years, Medium Rare Agencysucceeded in creating a future direction for Turkey Tourism Campaign, which was outstanding.Through their recent tender process, they presented a compelling and exciting evolution of thecampaign going forward.34 In 2008, Turkey registered a phenomenal increase in visitors from theGulf region. The highest number of visitors (55%) was from Kuwait followed by the UAE at 39%and Bahrain at 27%, and Saudi Arabia at 24% and Qatar at 13%.35 To further increase the visitornumbers in 2009, Turkey decided to implement a promotion campaign in the MENA region.With its experience, Medium Rare aimed to create and build awareness of Turkey as a favorabletourist destination in the region and to promote the tourism industry in general. Talking about therole of the agency in promoting Turkey as a tourist destination, Haitham Hidmi, managing directorof Medium Rare, said, The competitive tender process saw 55 agencies from the region pitchstrong and creative idea. Our 2009 campaign will build on Turkeys outstanding nature and richculture positioning. We will target the MENA traveler market by appealing to their desire for aninteractive inspiring travel experience with an opportunity for personal growth andtransformation.36 As part of the promotional campaign, The Turkish Tourism Office in Dubai, representative of theMoT in UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait, organized aCultural Nights of Istanbul festival inApril 2009 followed by a shopping festival in Istanbul between March 15 and April 15, 2009. Thetourism office in Dubai did not expect the economic crisis toaffect Turkeys tourism industry andsaid that the tourist arrival numbers from the Middle East would increase by 45% in 2009.Commenting on the effect of the crisis, Emin Kaya, cultural and information attach from theTurkish consulate, said,Our perception of the global crisis is that it wont affect Turkeys tourismindustry assumingly it will create new opportunities for this market. This is due to the fact thattravelers will no longer choose expensive destinations and some will not travel to far offdestinations nor stay away as much because of the crisis. So Turkey can be described as a value formoney destination and will be giving more options for short term holidays.37

32 Turkey Premiers Unlimited Turkey Tourism Ad Campaign, www.travelagentcentral.com, March 24,2009.

33 Medium Rare Advertising LLC is a branding and advertising boutique agency based in Dubai.34 Medium Rare Advertising Wins Tender for Turkish Tourism Campaign, www.ameinfo.com, February

9, 2009.35 UAE based Agency Wins Global Advertising Tender, www.zawya.com, February 8, 2009. 36 UAE based Agency Wins Global Advertising Tender, www.zawya.com, February 8, 2009.37 Festivals Planned to Attract ME Visitors to Istanbul, www.ttnworldwide.com, July 2009.

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THE UK

Turkey is among the UK tourists favorite holiday spots and an estimated 2.2 million touristsvisited Turkey during 2008.38 Analysts felt that the increase in the number of tourists from the UKwas mainly because Turkey was considered as an affordable holiday destination, especially duringthe credit crunch. Over the years, a series of promotional campaigns had been launched in the UKshowcasing the best features of Turkey. For instance, the official advertising campaign,TurkeyisJust Fun depicted the pleasant atmosphere of Turkey. The campaign appeared in print and TVads. According to the Turkish Tourism Office in the UK, the tourism sector in Turkey was one ofthe fastest growing tourist centers in the world. According to Irfan Onal, director for the TurkishCulture and Tourism Office in the UK, We are incredibly pleased to see the number oftravelersto Turkey continue to grow. In line with our objectives of increasing the understanding amongst both consumers and the trade of what Turkey has to offer, we have been working hard to developTurkeys visibility around the world and grow the countrys profile even further by developingawareness of the cultural side of Turkey.39 RUSSIA

Russia was the secondlargest contributor to Turkeys tourism, with the number of visitors fromRussia growing significantly every year. In Russia, the advertising campaigns promoting Turkeyfocused on sea tourism and nature. The slogan used to attract more Russian tourists to Turkey wasBeaches is not all we have to offer! In 2008, the MoT organized a promotional campaign of Turkey in Russia. During the first sixmonths of the advertising campaign, 1,261 short ads were broadcast on various televisionchannels. By November 2008, 1,434 spots had been aired. A total of 23 Turkey publicity campaignads were published in 17 magazines. In the months of March and May 2008, in 10 cities, 19 ads promoting sea tourism, nature, history, love, family, and Istanbul were displayed on billboardsaround the country. In Moscow, 116,028 advertisements were displayed on 11 leading billboards.Between September and November 2008, additionally, 111,160 advertisements were put up on a billboard in Kazan and these ads were aired on 13 screens in St. Petersburg and Moscow in orderto raise awareness about Turkey. The Turkish government collaborated with Russian carriers suchas GTI Russia, Fresh Travel, Natali Tours, and Tez Tour, and Russian journalists to promotetourism to Turkey. The year 2008 was declared theYear of Turkish Culture in Russia. Inaddition to a fashion week and street festival, ballet performances, folk dances, orchestral concerts,lettering, and tile and stone carving exhibitions were organized as part of the Turkish culture year.About 100,000 copies of a 64-page magazine on Turkey were distributed. In 2009, advertisingagency Iconisus L&Y was awarded the contract to promote Turkey in Russia.

OTHER COUNTRIES

In the first half of 2008, the MoT launched numerous promotional campaigns in Eastern Europeancountries such as the Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria, Romania, and Poland, as well as in Greece,

Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia. As part of the campaign, TV channels and newspapersin these countries provided the public information about the seas, beaches, and climate in Turkey.The campaigns promoted Turkey by releasing ads on billboards, on the Internet, and throughannouncements in movie theaters. The advertising campaigns in Poland promoted family holidaysand meeting facilities in Turkey. The ads were presented on 15 TV channels and in 15 magazinesinforming people about the culture and history of Turkey. The press in Bulgaria, Romania, Greece,and Bosnia and Herzegovina featured attractions in Istanbul and promoted Efes40 as a healthtourism center, while in Macedonia, the focus was on Turkish cuisine and entertainment.

38 Number of Arriving-Departing Foreigners and Citizens, December 2008, htt p://www.kultur.gov.tr.39 Turkey Benefitting from Credit Crunch, www.ttnworldwide.com, February 2009.40 Efes is the Turkish name for the ancient Greek city of Ephesus.

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The year 2008 saw an increase of 11.66% in the number of foreign visitors arriving in Turkey fromOECD countries and a 15.30% increase in the number of foreign visitors arriving in Turkey fromEast Europe.46 Germany occupied the first place with a share of 16.84% (4,250,216) in thecomparison of arriving foreign visitors by nationality from January-November 2008. In 2008,

Antalya registered the highest number of foreigners followed by Istanbul (Refer to Table III fornumber of foreign visitors by provinces).Table III

Foreign Visitors by Provinces: January-November 2008

Antalya 8,442,714 (33.44%)Istanbul 6,587,103 (26.09%)Mugla 2,866,622 (11.36%)Edime 2,321,502 (9.20%)Izmir 1,005,002 (3.98%)

Source: http://www.traveldailynews.comAccording to the MoT, between January and May 2009,Turkeys tourism was down only by0.72% over the same period of 2008 even though the number of tourists worldwide dropped by 1-2% in the first five months of 2009 due to the global financial crisis and concerns related to theoutbreak of swine flu47. In February 2009, the number of international tourist arrivals to Turkeyrose 0.27% year-on-year to 898,927.48 As per the records, 7,327,542 foreigners visited Turkey between January and May 2009. Out of them, 1,204,391 were German, 522,077 were Russian,515,891 were Bulgarian, and 514,946 were British49(Refer to Exhibit VIII for distribution offoreigners arriving in Turkey by nationality from January May 2007-2009). Industry observers feltthat these positive indicators reflected the rising preference for Turkey as a favored touristdestination among tourists worldwide. According to Thomas Cook, the second largest traveloperator in Europe, the hottest ticket in the summer of 2009 was a holiday in Turkey50. USPresident Barack Obama too visited Turkey between April 6-7, 2009 and visited several culturaland historical sites in Istanbul.Experts felt that the MoT, which was the recipient of six Adrian Awards51 in 2004, hadsuccessfully positioned Turkey as one of the worlds most sought aftertourist destinations.Analysts attributed the significant growth in the number of tourist arrivals in Turkey to a series ofad campaigns launched by the tourism authorities in Turkey. The success and impact of theseadvertising campaigns were supported by the fact that extensive articles such as theTreasures ofthe Turkish Coast and At the Crossroads,appeared inCond Nast Traveler and Travel+

Leisure 52 respectively. In addition, numerous articles appeared in major newspapers like the NewYork Times , Los Angeles Times, and Miami Herald as well.

46 Turkey Surpass 2008 Target in 11 Months, www.traveldailynews.com, December 29, 2008.47 In 2009, the swine flu pandemic was caused by an outbreak of a new strain of influenza A virus subtype

H1N1 found in pigs. This strain can be transmitted among humans and is generally associated withsymptoms of influenza. Experts believed that the swine flu pandemic affected the travel and tourismindustry, particularly in countries worst affected by the pandemic.

48 Deprecating Lira Improves Tourists Inflow to Turkey, www.rncos.com, April 14, 2009.49 Turkish Tourism Only Down 072 Percent in Five Months, www.turkishweekly.net, June 23, 2009.50 Foreign Visitors to Turkey on the Rise, www.propertywire.com, April 16, 2009.51 The Adrian Awards honor outstanding achievements in advertising, public relations, and web marketing in

the travel industry. The awards are presented by the Hospitality Sales and Marketing AssociationInternational (HSMAI), an international organization of sales and marketing professionals in hospitality,travel, and tourism.

52 Travel + Leisure is a travel magazine based in New York City.

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Experts pointed out that the other significant factor which contributed to the growth was thedepreciation in the Turkish Lira53 against the euro and the dollar in the first quarter of 2009. Forthose affected by the credit crunch, the fall in the value of the Turkish Lira made Turkey anaffordable year round holiday destination when compared to Spain, Italy, and France, they said. It

was reported that in 2009, more Britons would head to Turkey, Egypt, and Morocco for a holiday because of the slumping of the pound against the euro which had pushed up the cost of traditionaltourist destinations and made Europe an expensive tourist proposition.The tourism sector in Turkey recorded a phenomenal growth in 2008 and overtook Spain as the topdestination for British tourists, said a spokesperson from the MoT Office in the UK. According tothe Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), the demand for travel to Turkey rose 32% in2008 and this trend was expected to continue even in 2009.54 With the position of the currenciesunlikely to get much better we expect people will continue to look further afield to North Africaand Turkey, which offer much better value for money and where you can still find dinner for twofor 20,55 an ABTA spokesman said.CHALLENGES

One of the biggest challenges for the Turkish government was to revive tourism in the South-Eastregion of Turkey. This region was considered as a hub of cultural and religious monuments, but itstourism potential was affected by Kurdish terrorism in the area. Held under military control and aState of Emergency, the region was kept off-limits to all. The government planned to revivetourism in the region. Some organizations alleged that the Turkish military were waging a brutalwar against the people of Kurdistan and reported that Turkey was using all its tourism revenues inthe war against the Kurds.56 Reportedly the military spent up to US$10 billion every year on thewar. In order to protest the violation of human rights in Turkey, some organizations launched anti-Turkey campaigns, urging tourists to stop visiting the country. Analysts felt that Turkeys troubleswith Kurdish separatists had hit its tourism market hard. It was a major blow to Turkey whichdepended heavily on the tourism sector to boost its economy, they said.

Though the US market held great potential for Turkish tourism, the number of US tourists visitingTurkey was low compared to other countries that had entered the world tourism market much later.For instance, a new entrant like Croatia was a holiday destination for 1.2 million US tourists peryear. Some analysts attributed the low numbers to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 in the US. Itwas reported that the number of US visitors coming to Turkey had gone down to 222,000 in 2003when compared to an average of 500,000 yearly visitors prior to the attacks. Though the numberincreased in 2006, experts felt that the government of Turkey should promote its tourism well allaround the year. Campaigns were carried out only during the in-season in the US whereas nocampaigns were launched during off-season, they pointed out.The greatest threat to the Turkish tourist sector stemmed from the price slashing measuresimplemented to attract more tourists. It was reported that Germans and Russians were able to book

a trip to Turkey along with a stay in a five-star hotel for just 200 Euros57

. As a result, though thenumber of foreign tourists increased, the profits remained stagnant. According to Aydin, Thenumber of tourists coming from abroad is gr owing, but the profits are not.58 Experts were of the

53 In the first quarter of 2009, The Turkish Lira dropped by more than 20% in value, making Turkey one ofthe worlds most affordable places for European tourists.

54 Britons Head Further Afield for Holidays to Avoid Expensive Euro Zone, www.traveldailynews.com,December 29, 2008.

55 Britons Head Further Afield for Holidays to Avoid Expensive Euro Zone, www.traveldailynews.com,December 29, 2008.

56 http://home.clara.net/heureka/sunrise/trhols02.htm57 Turkish Tourism Sector Emerging from Crisis Stronger, www.traveldailynews.com, February 2, 2009. 58 Turkish Tourism Sector Emerging from Crisis Stronger, www.traveldailynews.com, February 2, 2009.

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opinion that the government needed to opt for increases in prices in order to realize more profitsfrom the tourism sector. But some analysts wondered whether the price hike would go down wellwith the tourists and whether it would affect the tourism market in Turkey.According to analysts, there were certain other factors hindering the progress of tourism in Turkey.For instance, events like natural disasters, epidemic diseases, or terrorist attacks had an adverseimpact on the tourism revenues. In 2008, PETA59 madea Please Dont Visit Turkey callin theUK urging tourists not to visit Turkey until Turkish officials dealt with animal welfare issues in a professional manner. PETA reportedthat every year, Turkeys streetswere cleaned before thetourist season started. Dogs were poisoned or transported to remote areas where most of them dieddue to starvation.60 Analysts felt that the MoT should stop the abuse of cats and dogs in Turkeywhich otherwise might affect tourist arrivals from the UK.

Analysts were of the view that the government of Turkey should come out with specificadvertising strategies to dilute the effect of situations such as terrorist attacks which otherwisemight impact the tourism industry seriously. Talking about the importance of the terrorism issuewhile defining Turkeys tourism strategy, Varler said, When a bomb explodes in Turkey we are

being affected severely. However, similar events in many other countries do not produce the sameresult. Turkey is still a Middle Eastern country in the minds of the general public. There are very big prejudices that we must eliminate. In particular, the reform process that is taking place as aresult of the European Union negotiations should remain steady. Through these negotiations, the prejudices and the negative attitude toward Turkey would wither away.61

OUTLOOK

Analysts opined that the future of Turkish tourism looked promising as the country was fastgaining popularity as a value-based destination and this might give it an advantage over rivaldestinations. It was reported that the MoT had allocated 115 million liras (approx US$ 68 million)for the promotion of Turkish tourism in 2009.62 Though the number of foreign tourists choosingTurkey as a holiday destination was down 1.08% in May 2009 because of the economic crisis,officials were expecting a rise in the number in the following months and planned to host 25million tourists in 2009.63 Turkeys tourism industry could overcome the effects of the globaleconomic crisis if it came out with a well-organized promotion policy, they said. Talking about theeffects of the global recession on the tourism industry in Turkey, Ertugrul Gnay (Gnay), theCulture and Tourism Minister of Turkey,said, Despite the crisis, people all around the world willcontinue to visit tourist destinations and European tourists in particular are likely to prefer closerdestinations, like Turkey, instead of remote places, such as the Far East, China, and Japan. Turkeycan turn the crisis into an opportunity if it promotes itself well internationally and adopts areasonable price policy.64 The target set by MoT for 2009 was an increase of 10% in the number of tourists visiting the

country and a 12% increase in tourism revenue. According to Gnay, in 2009, Turkey would focuson destination-oriented advertising and promotional campaigns to make Turkey a global brand intourism. The tourism ministry also planned to design a series of international campaigns whichwould highlight Turkish cities such as Istanbul, Antalya, and Cappadocia as destinations forinternational travelers in 2009. To target tourists from America, Europe, the Middle East, and the

59 Founded in 1980, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is an animal rights organization. Itis based in Norfolk, Virginia.

60 http://action.peta.org.uk/ea-campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.campaign.id=377261 Turkey Plans to Regain Tourism Ground, www.turkishdailynews.com.tr, May 2, 2007. 62 Turkish Tourism to Grow by 10 Percent in 2009, www.cumberland-properties.com, February 28, 2009.63 Turkish Tourism Only Down 072 Percent in Five Months, www.turkishweekly.net, June 23, 2009.64 Ozgur Tore, Turkeys 2009 Tourism Strategy Announced, www.ftnnews.com, October 15, 2008.

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Far East, the Ministry planned to launch more international campaigns. Turkey also planned to participate in tourism fairs to be held in London, Moscow, and Berlin in 2009. The MoT planned aseries of promotional activities in Switzerland, Spain, Germany, America, Austria, and China to promote Turkey, with a Turkish Day event to be held in France in 2009.

To give a further boost to the tourism industry, MoT along with the private sector, allocated a budget of US$ 320 million to promote tourism to Turkey in new markets through advertising.65 The advertising campaigns were tofocus on the countrys diversity in tourism such as sea-and-suntourism, faith tourism, winter sports, sailing tourism, health, thermal and congress tourism, andTurkish cuisine and hospitality. Turkey was also becoming a popular wedding tourism destination,especially among couples from Arab countries, Iran, and Greece.Analysts were of the opinion that Turkey had several opportunities to develop alternative tourism,which included in addition to coastal tourism, health and thermal tourism, winter sports, mountainclimbing and lay out tourism, adventure trips, plateau tourism, and ecotourism, conference andexpo tourism, cruise ship and yacht tourism, golf tourism, etc. Experts were of the opinion thatthough sea-and-sun tourism was the most popular, cultural tourism and medical tourism too were

increasing their market share. It was reported that globally, the medical tourism sector wasestimated to grow by more than 150%in 2009. As Turkeys medical tourism sector chargedcomparatively low prices and offered quality service, it increasingly drew patients and aging baby boomers66 from Europe and the Middle East, analysts said. Dr. Mahir Turan, General Manager ofMedical Park Goztepe Health Complex, said,In the past,foreign patients used to prefer Turkeydue to lower costs, whereas now they prefer the country due to its high quality.67 Turkeys MoT was encouraging development in the industry and had set a long-term tourismstrategy with the ultimate goal of becoming one of the five top destinations in the world to receivethe highest number of tourists and tourist receipts by 2023. To ensure the sustainable and healthydevelopment of the tourism sector in Turkey, the MoT devised the Tourism Strategy of Turkey 2023 with the primary objective of guiding the tourism industry in the product management and

implementation phases. The strategy dealt with the wiser use of the natural, cultural, historical, andgeographical assets present in Turkey (Refer to Exhibit IX for the objectives of Tourism Strategyof Turkey -2023).Experts predicted that Turkish tourism would grow by 10% in 2009 despite the global economiccrisis. Commenting on the expected annual increase of tourists in Turkey, Yazar said, Thenumber of tourists arriving in Turkey from various European countries continues to grow annually.We are noticing a decline in the number of tourists coming from Russia, Ukraine, Belgium, andthe Netherlands. However, we expect a 25% increase in the number of tourists coming to Turkeyfrom the Middle East in 2009. More than two million tourists from the Middle East are expected tovisit Turkey in 2009.68 Experts felt that Turkey would emerge stronger from the economic crisis as it provided value tothe tourists. Instead of visiting countries such as Italy and Spain, tourists would prefer to visitTurkey in these tougher times, they said. 69 However, they also acknowledged that Turkey had toovercome some serious challenges it if were to achieve its objective of becoming one of the topfive destinations of the world.

65 PromotionCampaigns Boosting Tourists Flow in Turkey, www.rncos.com, March 27, 2009.66 Baby boomer is a term used to refer to persons born after World War II, generally between 1946 and

1964.67 Turkey, Shining Star of Health Tourism, www.invest.gov.tr, June 10, 2009.68 Turkish Tourism to Grow by 10 Percent in 2009, www.cumberland-properties.com, February 28, 2009.69 Turkish Tourism Sector Emerging from Crisis Stronger, www.traveldailynews.com, February 2, 2009.

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Exhibit I

Snapshot of Turkey

Location Turkey is located in the southwestern part of Asia.

It is bordered by the Black Sea, the Aegean Seaand the Mediterranean Sea.

Area Total: 780,580 sq kmLand: 770,760 sq kmWater: 9,820 sq km

Population 76,805,524 (July 2009, estimated)

Ethnic Groups Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% (estimated)

Major Religion Islam

Capital Ankara

Largest city Istanbul

Currency Turkish Lira

Government Republican Parliamentary Democracy

GDP (purchasingpower parity)

US$ 906.5 billion (2008 estimated)

Languages Turkish (official), Kurdish, other minoritylanguages

Compiled from various sources

Exhibit II

Turkey Tourism Logo

Source: http://madeinturkey.deviantart.com/art/Turkey-Tourism-Logo-54646970

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Exhibit III

Country-wise Ranking Based on International Tourism Receipts

(In US$, billion)

Country 1995 2000 2005 2006 20071 United States 63.4 82.4 81.8 85.7 96.72 Spain 25.4 30.0 48.0 51.1 57.83 France 27.4 30.8 44.0 46.3 54.24 Italy 28.7 27.5 35.4 38.1 42.75 China 8.7 16.2 29.3 33.9 41.96 UK 20.5 21.9 30.7 33.7 37.67 Germany 18.0 18.7 29.2 32.8 36.0

8 Australia 8.1 9.3 16.9 17.8 22.29 Austria 12.9 9.8 16.1 16.6 18.9

10 Turkey 5.0 7.6 18.2 16.9 18.5

Source: www.tourismroi.com/Content_Attachments/27670/File_633513750035785076.pdf

Exhibit IV

Budget Distribution for Year 2009

CountryBunches

Total Group Budget(US$, million)

Estimated Budget in some key countries (US$,million)

America 4 US (4)Europe 33.3 Italy (1), Spain (1), France (1), UK (4.5), Denmark

(1), Finland (1), Russia (5), Ukraine (1.75),Kazakhstan (1), Bosnia & Herz (0.3), Bulgaria (1.5),Macadonia (0.25), Germany (7.5), Netherlands (1.25),Poland (1), Switzerland (1), Austria (1), Poland (1),Belgium (1)

Middle East- North Africa

3.95 UAE (1), Pakistan (0.2), Saudi Arabia (0.5), Egypt(0.35), Iran (0.5), Syria (0.4), Israel (1)

Far-East andIndia

3.75 China (1.25), Japan (1.25), Malaysia (0.5), India(0.75)

Total 45

Adapted from www.tourismturkey.jp/pressrelease/document/Budget.doc

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Exhibit V

Key Elements of Turkeys Promotional Strategy: 2009

Objective

To promote tourism with a focus on specific destinations, at a time when world tourism marketsaccelerate and travel dates are set was the objective of the advertising campaign. The followingmarketing and communications goals were to be met:

Marketing goals:

- To expand Turkeys market share in main markets, preserving share in the maturemarkets, and increasing the share in the developing markets.

- To increase the total number of visitors by 10% and the revenue by 12%.- To increase the percentage of the number of tourists with high income levels.- To increasetourists individual spending and the duration of their stay.

- To expand the demand for tourism throughout the year by decreasing the impact ofseasonality.- To increase Turkeys share of culture, golf, congress, yacht, city, health, and eco

tourism.- To ensurea balanced distribution of tourist activities to Turkeys different regions.

Communication goals:

- To position Turkey as a positive and well-known tourist destination- To increase awareness of the natural richness and historical places of Turkey through

destination marketing

- To emphasize the variety and harmony of Turkeys tourism products - To position Turkey and destinations such as Istanbul as an important alternative for

short breaks (Easter, Christmas, New Years Eve, school holidays, etc.)- To promote international sports activities, cultural and artistic events taking place in

Turkey- To cherish a friendly and welcoming human factor with slices of life

Target Marketing

The campaign in each country region was to be in tune with local realities and had toemphasize:

The uniqueness of Turkey, in the perception of the target groupsPrimarily destinations and locations, also including the human factor and the values,Easy access for the nearby countries, regionsQuality of the vacation for distant countries quality/price/presentation ratio

Target Consumer Profile

- Middle and high education and income levels- Sensitive about price but at the same time giving importance to the product quality- Young and middle-aged groups

- Frequent travelers

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Communication Strategies and Tactics

The overall tone of the campaign to project Turkey as a peaceful, contemporary countrywith self-respect.

Communication to emphasize different and genuine national humanitarian values.Use of online elements for direct sales as well as for creating value.

Preparation in advance of special advertisement campaigns for important international,sports, arts, and cultural events and fairs.

Other Considerations

Existing country logo to be retained but there were provisions for some specialapplications for specific destinations.

A slogan/integral idea was to be developed that would not lose its meaning whentranslated into different languages and that could be used through all disciplines.

Diversity and new approaches to be reflected in outdoor campaigns.Crisis Management

To be prepared to counter threats such as regional economic or political problems,counterpropaganda, war, biological threat, ,natural disasters and developments whichcan affect price and profit margins, that could have a negative impact on the promotional campaign.

To adopt a proactive approach to protect the current image and prevent a negative imageof the country, prevent a possible reduction in the demand, and determine the prioritymarkets in order to preserve the general level of demand.

Adapted from www.tourismturkey.jp/.../Communication-Marketing_Strategies.doc

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Exhibit VI

The Unlimited Turkey Campaign

Source: http://michael-shirley.com

Exhibit VII

Distribution of Foreigners Arriving in Turkey by Years and Months:January 2007-May 2009

Months 2007 2008 2009 Rate of change (%)

2008/2007 2009/2008

January 714,425 782,786 751,817 9.57 -3.96February 787,048 896,482 898,927 13.90 0.27March 1,099,960 1,305,297 1,207,729 18.67 -7.47April 1,520,954 1,647,903 1,750,281 8.35 6.21May 2,287,645 2,748,564 2,718,788 20.15 -1.08

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Months 2007 2008 2009 Rate of change (%)

2008/2007 2009/2008

June 2,774,076 3,305,832 - 19.17 -July 3,624,156 4,084,764 - 12.71 -August 3,384,065 3,762,136 - 11.17 -September 2,799,276 2,981,044 - 6.49 -October 2,152,908 2,462,497 - 14.38 - November 1,177,475 1,267,996 - 7.69 -December 1,018,923 1,091,376 - 7.11 -

Total 23,340,911 26,336,677 - 12.83 -

5 months total 6,410,032 7,381,032 7,327,542 15.15 -0.72

Source: www.kultur.gov.tr

Exhibit VIII

Distribution of Foreigners Arriving in Turkey by Nationalities in 2007-2009(*) (Jan May)

Countries 2009* Share % 2008 Share % 2007 Share %

Germany 1,204,391 16.44 1,292,459 17.51 1,168,510 18.23Russian fed. 522,077 7.12 649,793 8.80 517,684 8.08Bulgaria 515,891 7.04 442,642 6.00 457,936 7.14

UK 514,946 7.03 466,816 6.32 396,541 6.19Georgia 453,245 6.19 272,229 3.69 238,142 3.72Iran 388,837 5.31 364,500 4.94 328,257 5.12 Netherlands 314,086 4.29 336,516 4.56 297,173 4.64France 271,768 3.71 261,210 3.54 219,764 3.43Greece 210,852 2.88 194,759 2.64 143,734 2.24Italy 178,597 2.44 158,221 2.14 108,943 1.70Others 2,752,852 37.57 2,941,887 39.86 2,533,348 39.52

Total 7,327,542 100.00 7,381,032 100.00 6,410,032 100.00

*Provisional Data

Source: www.kultur.gov.tr

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Exhibit IX

Objectives of the Tourism Strategy of Turkey: 2023

To design a planning approach that supports economic growth, is physically applicable and

socially relevant, and reflects the principle of sustainable tourism.To further tourism investments by designing incentive schemes that would make tourisminvestment projects economically feasible and viable.

To attain institutionalization through councils to be established at the national, regional, provincial, and local levels and to ensure the active participation of the tourism sector aswell as related public and private entities and NGOs in the decision making process.

To provide alternative tourism products based on acceptable quality and affordable prices tovarious groups in the society.

To ensure prioritization of R&D in the tourism industry among private and public sectorand tourism organizations.

To purge the densely populated and fastest growing tourism centers of transportation andinfrastructural problems.

To introduce marketing and promotion activities at each destination, in addition to thenational marketing and promotion campaigns with the ultimate objective of branding on anational regional and local scale.

To set up and introduce an education program in tourism, which would yield measurableoutcomes.

To activate Total Quality Management in every constituent of the travel industry.

To manage branding of cities rich with cultural and natural heritage and convert them into a point of attraction for travelers.To develop the means for alternative tourism types particularly health, thermal, winter, golf,sea tourism, ecotourism and plateau tourism, conference, and expo tourism activities.

To make arrangements for strengthening the infrastructure of areas where mass tourismactivities grow intense and for extending the tourism season throughout the entire year inthese regions.

To use tourism as a key tool for local and regional development in tourism developmentareas comprising more than one city to be transformed into destinations.

To develop a certain route for tourism on definite themes, by rehabilitating historical andnatural texture.

To develop nature tourism in accordance with development plans.

Adapted fr om Tourism Strategy of Turkey- 2023, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 2007.

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22. Turkey Plans to Regain Tourism Ground, www.turkishdailynews.com.tr, May 2,2007.

23. Turkeys Tourism Encourages Property Investors, http://edisonford.mbatestsite.co.uk, April 10, 2007.

24. Turkeys Tourism in 2007: Think Positive, www.turkey-now.org, February 16, 2007.25. Tourism Strategy of Turkey -2023, www.kulturturizm.gov.tr, 2007.26. Justin Huggler, Special Report: Turkey: Tourisms Faltering Success,

www.independent.co.uk, June 26, 1998.27. http://www.us-istanbul.com/pdfs/reports/turkey/turkey_tourism.pdf28. http://www.smpublication.com/meet_pdf/november08.pdf29. http://action.peta.org.uk/ea-campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.campaign.id=377230. www.kultur.gov.tr

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