Over one million hotel beds in Türkiye have now received sustainable tourism verifications and certificates, according to figures released today by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, at the beginning of WTM. More than 7,500 hotels containing 1,044,189 beds have been awarded Sustainable Tourism Verifications and Certificates within Türkiye’s National Sustainability Tourism Program. The certification process is an integral part of Türkiye’s programme, which has been developed in partnership with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council – with which Türkiye was the first country in the world to sign an agreement on a government level.
On the first day of the World Travel Market in London, Mr Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Türkiye’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, said: “Overall visitor arrivals to Türkiye from January to September 2023 totalled 45.230.069 – an increase of 12.4% from the same period in 2022. The UK is one of our key target markets. Having held ABTA’s annual Travel Convention in Bodrum between October 29th and November 2nd this year confirms this. There were 3.157.421 UK visitor arrivals to Türkiye from January to September 2023 - an increase of 12.1% from the same period in 2022. While we concentrate heavily on the growth of our tourism industry, we are equally determined to preserve our country’s resources for future generations. Here at WTM, together with our local industry stakeholders, we present our unique tourism destinations and products. But at the same time, we are happy to announce that our National Sustainable Tourism Programme is on track to making fast and effective progress towards its goals. Over 45 million people visited Türkiye in the first nine months of 2023. With over one million hotel beds in our largest tourism regions now sustainably verified and certified, we are happy to see that a substantial number of international visitors to Türkiye have stayed in these accommodation facilities.”
Türkiye’s booth is located at N8-210 in the WTM. Accompanied by 61 industry participants, Türkiye will present its leading destinations, products and sub-brands such as the “Turkish Riviera”, “Turkaegean – the Coast of Happiness”, “İstanbul Is the New Cool”, “Cappadocia – The Land of Fairy Tales”, “Turkish Black Sea”, and “Naturally Türkiye” at its 808 square meters (approximately 2651 feet square) booth.
The booth will emphasise the country’s cycling routes, the National Sustainable Tourism Programme, and 50 sustainable tourism experiences all around the country. The booth will also highlight Türkiye's rich history and cultural heritage and its offerings of sustainable culinary tourism.
Türkiye is one of only a few countries worldwide with a ‘must have’ approach to sustainable tourism with the certification of accommodation facilities mandated by law. Looking at the progress of the National Sustainable Tourism Program in Türkiye’s four largest tourism regions, 1,144 accommodation facilities have been verified/certified in Antalya, 966 in İstanbul, 639 in Muğla, and 488 in İzmir.
For more details about Türkiye and its National Sustainable Tourism Programme: