Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy explained Türkiye's rise and goals in the field of tourism in his speech at the Palandöken Economic Forum held in Erzurum. Ersoy stated that Türkiye will be one of the top 2024 tourism economies in the world as of 4 and emphasized that their goal is to be among the top 3 countries.
Erzurum hosted the Palandöken Economic Forum on the occasion of its declaration as the tourism capital of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in 2025. Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, various ministers, Chairman of the Assembly of Elders of the Organization of Turkic States (TDT) Binali Yıldırım and politicians, academics and entrepreneurs from many countries attended the forum themed “A Fair Future in a Smart World: Intelligence Economy and Global Inequality”.
Praise for Erzurum from President Erdoğan
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated in his video message to the forum that he believes Erzurum will do its best as the ECO tourism capital. Expressing that the events will contribute to the international promotion of Erzurum and the development of its economic capacity, Erdoğan said, “We believe that with this title, Erzurum will become one of the centers of not only culture and tourism but also economic diplomacy.”
Vice President Yilmaz: “Türkiye’s Century Will Be the Century of Digital”
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz emphasized that artificial intelligence and digital transformation have a great impact on every area of the economy. Yılmaz said, “Within our 2030 Industry and Technology strategy, we foresee increasing the number of robots in the manufacturing industry by 8 times to 200 thousand and developing domestic digital solutions with the vision of making the ‘Century of Turkey’ the ‘Century of Digital’.”
Minister Ersoy: “Tourism is an Ecosystem”
Minister Ersoy stated that tourism is no longer just a holiday activity and said, “Tourism is an ecosystem, culture, diplomacy, innovation and trade. "Tourism supports local development, grows SMEs. Most importantly, it increases employment for women and youth. It is the most effective activity that removes the boundaries between societies and connects societies across borders," he said.
Emphasizing that Türkiye has made the best use of its tourism potential, Ersoy announced that they closed 2024 with 61.1 billion dollars of revenue and 62.3 million visitors, and that they rose to 4th place in the world rankings. Ersoy said, “Our goal is to be among the top three countries in tourism, and for this, we will work harder with the private sector and the state working hand in hand.”
Türkiye's Potential in Tourism
Ersoy, who stated that the contribution of travel and tourism to Türkiye's gross national product is approximately 12 percent, said that this figure is increasing every day. Ersoy said, "We call tourism the oil of Türkiye and we have a lot of natural wealth. We have archaeological values that date back 12 thousand years and beyond. We are one of the unique countries in the world in terms of both cultural and natural wealth."
Stating that Türkiye's archaeological assets are being promoted more internationally, Ersoy said, "With the archaeological program we have carried out, we will hopefully bring the 10 percent of our assets we have excavated so far to the level of 20 percent within four years."
“We Must Remove Artificial Obstacles Within Us”
Ersoy, who explained the decisions taken in the meetings held with the tourism ministers of the member countries of ECO, said, “We need to establish air bridges. Turkey has made an infrastructure investment in a line point such as Istanbul IGA Airport, which is considered one of the largest hubs in the world. We have the world’s largest airport and one of the world’s largest airlines, located right in the center, connecting the east and west, the north and the south.”
Ersoy emphasized that artificial barriers should be removed in order to increase air bridges with ECO member countries, and said, “I think the more we travel to each other, the easier it will be to turn this into trade. The stronger we are in unity, the stronger and more resilient we will be against the outside.”
Stating that many countries now want to get a share of the tourism pie, Ersoy said, “We have entered a period in which we need to grow together by strictly following the rules and taking steps with the right strategies without making any compromises. I see this potential in all ECO countries, especially Turkey.”
The forum continued with a session titled “Culture and Tourism in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” The forum discussed the effects of digital transformation on economies.
