The number of Turkish tourists visiting Germany has been increasing in recent years, said Petra Hedorfer, chairwoman of the Berlin-based German Tourism Center, or DZT.
“Half of the Turkish tourists who come to Germany visit various regions in Germany during their trip. For this reason, we see [a] potential for important growth in classic city tourism,” she said.
Hedorfer was speaking at a special evening hosted by the DZT, RUHR2010 and the Ruhr Tourism Authority held at the Ceylan InterContinental Istanbul Hotel.
In 2010, not only Istanbul, but also the Ruhr in Germany and Pecs in Hungary will be European Capitals of Culture.
According to Hedorfer, tourists to the Ruhr expect an unparalleled experience where they can visit a service and information society in the same place an industrial society used to exist in the region.
Hedorfer said the DZT was the national public relations and marketing organization of German tourism and was supporting RUHR2010 and Ruhr Tourism.
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“Given that Istanbul is also a European Cultural Capital in 2010, culture and art topics will become much more a daily matter. Because of Istanbul’s being the European Cultural Capital in 2010, Turkey is a very important country for us,” she said.
“Germany’s Cultural Capital Essen and the whole Ruhr metropolis will make an important contribution to the recognition of a Germany that is a young and creative country that is open to the world,” Hedorfer said.
For 2009 and 2010, the DZT has 35 Web sites promoting RUHR2010 at important tourism fairs and promotional activities. It will also organize promotional trips so that tourism and media sector representatives will be able to experience RUHR2010 first hand.
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