Istanbul; 03 October: Istanbul’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games has been strengthened by recently-released figures that show that despite the global recession, the number of foreign visitors to Turkey has risen in the first eight months of 2012 to 22 million – an increase of over half a million visitors on the same period in 2011.
Figures released by Turkey’s Ministry of Tourism and Culture confirm the country’s position as one of the top ten most visited countries in the world. This supports the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index survey this year which showed that Olympic 2020 candidate city, Istanbul, is the fifth most visited destination on the planet with over 11 million foreign visitors expected this year. This momentum is set to increase with an anticipated record-breaking 33 million visitors to Turkey in 2013.
Commenting on the figures, Hasan Arat, Chairman of the Istanbul 2020 Bid Committee stated:
"These figures highlight that more and more tourists are being attracted to Turkey’s vibrant culture, rich history, hospitable people and spectacular location which bridges Europe and Asia.
"Turkey’s tourist infrastructure has grown significantly, increasing by 67 per cent in the last ten years. By 2015, Turkey's hotels will offer 370,000 rooms for a wide variety of budgets – and this diversity of hotel accommodation is replicated in Istanbul. This is one of the great strengths of our bid, which will be demonstrated in our candidature file next year."
The Istanbul 2020 bid enjoys a close partnership with The Ministry of Culture and Tourism; running parallel with this increase in foreign visitors, Turkey is hosting more prestigious major international sporting events, including the Turkish Airlines World Golf Finals 9-12 October, the Intercontinental Istanbul Eurasia Marathon 11 November, and the 11th FINA World Swimming Championships 12-16 December.
Ugur Erdener, IOC member and President of the Turkish NOC said:
"This year Turkey is hosting several prestigious international sports events which, together with the increase in international visitors, contribute to the real momentum behind Turkey’s bid to host its first ever Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020. However, we recognise there is a significant amount of work still to do, and our team of national and international experts is focussed on delivering a unique and innovative blueprint for the Games with our Candidature File, which will be submitted to the IOC Executive Board early in 2013."
According to the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index, Istanbul is the third most visited city in Europe, behind London and Paris, with a 14.7% growth in visitor numbers since the same time last year.
For more information contact: media@istanbul2020.com.tr
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