More than 26 million tourists visit Turkey in 2008- ministry
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More than 26 million tourists visited Turkey in 2008, Turkish Tourism Ministry officials said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a gathering in the northwestern province of Bursa, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Ismet Yilmaz, said that Turkey's tourism income reached $21 billion this year.
Briefing participants on the tourism activities in Turkey and all over the world, Yilmaz said that the growth rate of tourism was 2 percent in the world and 13 percent in Turkey in 2008.
Yilmaz said Turkey was one of the top 10 countries in the world both in terms of tourism income and number of visitors.
"Turkey's tourism income is almost equal to the tourism income of the whole African continent. The Mediterranean province of Antalya welcomed its 9th million tourist last month. The number of tourists visiting Antalya is equal to those visiting Egypt which is famous for its pyramids," Yilmaz said.