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Minister Ersoy: I don’t think there will be a problem in terms of domestic tourism this year

Culture and Tourism Minister Ersoy said, “Our Safe Tourism Certificate is very effective, one of the most effective certification systems in the world. It gives confidence to Turkish tourists at the same time. I don’t think there will be a problem in terms of domestic tourism this year.”

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy answered journalists’ questions before the joint press conference held yesterday by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Polish President Andrzej Sebastian Duda.

On a question about the talks with Russia, Minister Ersoy said, “The number of cases continues to improve. When we look at Turkey, we look at the number of cases on the last day. Europe and abroad look at the 2-week average. When we look at someone from abroad, we look at the average of 2 weeks.”

When asked whether Russia has set a limit for the number of coronavirus cases in Turkey regarding the arrival of tourists, Ersoy said, “They should accept above the limits of last year. According to the borders of the previous year, nobody can open (its doors) to anyone in the world, nobody can open it to anyone in the world, not to Turkey.”

Stating that the situation is progressing positively for now, Ersoy said, “We need to see under 5 thousand (Covid-19 case numbers), that is, we need to reach below 5 thousand in order to talk about something.”

“COUNTRY BASED DECISIONS ARE MADE”

When asked whether the negotiations with the European Union are continuing, Ersoy said, “It continues, we will have very intense meetings next week. Country-based, not the European Union, country-based decisions are made, everyone makes their own decisions.”

Stating that they will have various visits, Ersoy said, “The European Union countries have made a new principle decision, they are lifting the travel restrictions of visitors who have double vaccination. This is also true for us.”

Upon a question, Minister Ersoy said that Turkey accepted all vaccines in EU countries and said, “They did not give a refusal about the Chinese vaccine. They just examined it, we think it will result in a positive result. Since it is a vaccine that is not used much in Europe, they do not have data, they are collecting the data right now.”

“WE WILL EXCEED LAST YEAR’S FIGURES”

Ersoy said that they will share this as it becomes clear, upon a question about which countries they will visit.

Stating that they meet regularly with the UK, Ersoy said, “We are meeting with the Ministry of Health officials. They have a traffic light system. We have already provided data flow compatible with it. The Ministry of Health has started to meet very intensely. Since there are technical issues, officials from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Health should meet. We speak the same language with Brits now. Frankly, I expect a positive development there, as they make an assessment every 3 weeks.”

When asked how Russia’s approach to the Chinese vaccine was, Ersoy stated that he did not see any negative statements about it.

Minister Ersoy, on a question about whether the number of tourists will exceed the figures for 2020, said, “Last year, we had a target of 15 million and 16 million was realized. It will be clear this year as well, within 1 month, let the air traffic become clear, so we will make a comment again. We will surely exceed the figures of last year.”

On another question, Ersoy said that domestic tourism has intensified and that it is better on a monthly basis compared to 2020.

Minister Ersoy made the assessment that “Our Safe Tourism Certificate is very effective, one of the most effective certification systems in the world. It gives confidence to Turkish tourists at the same time. We see the positive results of this. I do not think there will be a problem in terms of domestic tourism this year.”

Source: NTV / Translated by Irem Yildiz

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