|
|
|
Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-07-30
CONTENTS
[01] Greek tourists visiting Turkey rose by 40 percent this year, Greek
and Turkish tourism ministers note after meeting in Istanbul
[01] Greek tourists visiting Turkey rose by 40 percent this year, Greek
and Turkish tourism ministers note after meeting in Istanbul
Istanbul (ANA/A. Kourkoulas) -- The number of Greek tourists who have
visited Turkey jumped by 40 percent this year, Turkey's culture and
tourism minister Attila Koc and Greece's visiting tourism development
minister Dimitris Avramopoulos said Saturday in Istanbul, after a
meeting on the sidelines of an event organised by the Turkish Touristic
Hotels and Investors Association (TUROB).
The two ministers, speaking to the press, stated their desire for
investments in the tourism sector, and stressed that the two peoples
"are not only friends, they are not only trade partners, but they have
shared a common history and common fate".
Avramopoulos said that tourism would help the two peoples to get to
know each other better. "We do not consider tourism as only a
commercial activity, but also an activity that provides an opportunity
for the two peoples to get to know each other better. There is no
geographical distance between Turkey and Greece, only a psychological
distance. We do not consider Turkey an opponent in the sector of
tourism, but a partner and friend," the Greek minister said.
Koc, in turn, noted that since 2002 to the present, a total of 25
protocols and agreements have been signed (for cooperation in the
tourism sector).
The meeting was also attended by Turkish local government authorities
and president of the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO, or EOT)
Aristides Kalogeropoulos.
|
