Turkey's tourism renaissance
The number of tourists visiting Turkey has risen from 1.6 million to 39.2 million in three decades, placing it sixth among the world’s most popular destinations.
Revitalizing Turkey’s tourism sector was one of the major achievements of late Prime Minister Turgut Ozal, the man who dominated Turkish politics in the 1980s. Ozal, who would often make public appearances clad in shorts and a T-shirt, sped up investment in the tourism sector at a time when Turkey was toiling to sustain its fragile economy, unaware that its natural beauty, history, sea and sunshine could be also marketed. Driven by the build-operate-transfer model and lucrative incentives, five-star hotels and holiday villages sprang up on Turkey’s coasts. “Industry without chimneys” became the memorable slogan of the sector.
In 2011, the new mentality and physical infrastructure culminated in Turkey becoming the world’s sixth most popular tourist destination after France, the United States, China, Spain and Italy.
