Turkey received 1 million Ukrainian tourists during the pandemic

Vice President of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TURSAB), Ali Bilir, reported that the country received nearly one million Ukrainian tourists during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2019, nearly 1.5 million Ukrainian citizens visited our country. “There were not many Turkish citizens who traveled to Ukraine,” Beller said during a meeting with a Ukrainian delegation led by the head of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine, Mariana Oleksev.

“Although Ukrainians come here more than we do there, in the export-import balance we buy more from Ukraine,” Belair added.

Noting that the two countries have been cooperating for 10 years, Beller expressed his readiness to continue cooperation with Ukraine to make it more popular in Turkey and make more Turks visit it.

The Vice-President of the Federation admitted that Ukrainian tourists come to Turkey in search of the sea, the beach and the sun, but he also expressed his intention of wanting to announce such historical places as the Gobeklitepe site, Cappadocia region and Gaziantep. .

Blair stressed the importance of showing solidarity, especially in difficult times like the one the planet is going through in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“After the pandemic, we want to at least double the number of Ukrainian tourists we receive in 2019. If all goes smoothly, our goal is to receive 2.5 to 3 million tourists. For 2021, our goal is to receive at least 1 million people.”

For his part, Oleskev said that he will try to facilitate the conditions for Turkish tourists to enter Ukraine. “At the moment, a PCR test is required. We are trying to put it on hold,” Oleskeev added.

The head of the Ukrainian government agency reported that they have a budget this year of $4 million for the development of tourism and that they will use it largely for the propaganda of Ukraine in Turkey.

* Translated by Daniel Gallego.

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