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The Turkish Hotels Federation (TUROFED), is calling on the Turkish government to introduce a support package for the industry, Federation Chairman Ahmet Barut said. Speaking at a press conference in Istanbul, According to Huryiet, Barut said countries competing with Turkey for tourists had already taken measures to guarantee the survival of the industry during the global financial crisis. “In Spain, the government has introduced a support package of 400 million euros for the tourism industry, and in Greece, 200 million euros. This is what should happen in Turkey as well,” Barut said. “The package could be anything from $200 million to $500 million. In our discussions with the minister we mentioned $400 million.” According to Barut, Turkey’s tourism industry is likely to be among those to suffer the least from the crisis.
However, in past months the industry has struggled to find financing. “We would like the state to launch a specific fund for the industry through, for example, Eximbank,” Barut said. “The state and the industry should work to ensure demand does not drop,” he added.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
