Turkish culture minister attends International Tourism Exchange in Berlin

BERLIN (A.A) - March 7, 2012 - Turkish culture minister participated in the 46th International Tourism Exchange, or ITB, one of the world's leading travel trade show, in German capital of Berlin on Wednesday. Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay and German travel and tourism company TUI AG signed a strategic cooperation agreement on developing the Chinese travel market for Turkey as a holiday destination. Before the signing ceremony, Gunay said, "we are eager to launch new initiatives with TUI AG for far destinations. We are determined to work with TUI in the Chinese market." Gunay said that China was one of important countries growing in several areas and every year 50 million Chinese people were travelling to several countries. Nearly 100,000 Chinese people were visiting Turkey annually and Turkey should attract more Chinese tourists, he said. The agreement with TUI AG aimed to increase number of flights to China and attract more tourists to Turkey, the tourism minister said. Michael Frenzel, CEO of TUI AG, said that they were planning to jointly determine the potential for Turkey in the Chinese market and launch a marketing campaign to create awareness of Turkey as a holiday destination in the Chinese market. Gunay also visited Turkish pavilion in the International Tourism Exchange.