Turkey plans to host more than 23 million tourists in 2008

Turkey welcomed nearly 18.5 million tourists in 2007, Turkey's State Planning Organization (DPT) said on Sunday.

Turkey desires to catch up with France, Spain and Italy which are currently the most popular tourism destinations in Europe, DPT officials
added.

The number of tourists visiting France each year is around 79.1 million. Spain welcomes 58.5 million tourists while Italy hosts 41.1 million visitors every year, officials said.

Turkey is among the 20 most popular destinations for tourists in the world. The country is ranked the 11th in terms of the number of tourists visiting the country and the 9th in terms of tourism revenues.