In Turkey, tourism is already an important part of the country's economy. They are raising their tourism numbers even further, however, with hopes of increasing revenues substantially by 2023.
With plans to reach 50 million foreign visitors each year and an increase in revenue of US $50 billion, the goals are high. It is envisaged that this increase in figures will come directly from the tourism industry. As reported in Today's Zaman, Tourism and Culture Ministry Undersecretary Ismet Yilmaz said, "For this to happen, the weight of sun, sea and sand tourism should shrink in the total tourism revenue figures while the share of other types of tourism increases."
To meet these high revenue goals, the country would need to draw a higher class of wealth of foreign investors. To accomplish this, it must develop and implement high class resorts. Included in the goals is to have 5 million people working in the tourism sector with 500 planes able to move people back and forth, and the increase of 10 conference centres, 25 cruise ports as well as 40 marinas.
His plan also includes the addition of tourism driven properties including rental properties. The tourism plan would include developing attractions and interesting opportunities to attract a wide range of visitors including those seeking religion based tourism, historical significance and health, to name a few areas.