Turkey which has been one of the most favorable tourism destinations during the current decade continues to spend every effort to keep its position among top competitors in the industry. Within this scope 7 companies have participated in the 4th tourism fair held in Bagdat, the capital of Iraq hosting 12 countries.
The opening of the fair held at the International Baghdad Exhibition Center was made by Abdulemir al-Hamdani, the Iraqi Minister of Culture and Tourism.
Fatih Yıldız, Turkey's ambassador to Baghdad attending the fair made a statement saying “Turkey has the lion’s share at the fair in terms of participation”. The ambassador who pointed out that convenient measures were introduced for Iraqis with applications such as electronic visas and visa application centers said, “All these have made it easier to travel to Turkey. Last year, 1 million 170 thousand Iraqi citizens traveled to Turkey”.
The ambassador also noted that the fair was an opportunity to show Turkey was not only Istanbul and Antalya and tourism destinations in regions such as the Aegean, Black Sea and Southeastern Anatolia would also be introduced to Iraqis, on concerned occasion.
He went on to say, “I believe we have caught such a profile at this fair with the participation of 7 companies from Turkey. Judging on the number of visas we have been giving, we can see the favor Turkey enjoys in this regard will continue in an increasing manner. We will work harder. We would like Iraqis to have a significant share among foreigners traveling to Turkey.
On the other hand, it was shared at the fair that electronic visa procedures were performed in the Middle East and North Africa for those wishing to visit Turkey, as well. Regarding the issue, the officials said, "Our main activity is in Baghdad. We are providing electronic visas based on authorization by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to eliminate difficulties for Iraqi citizens”.
4th tourism fair was attended by 78 companies from countries such as Azerbaijan, Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Iran, Belarus, Russia, Thailand and France as well as Turkey, will last three days.
