The development of sustainable tourism in Turkey (стр. 2 из 4)

Like the evolution in Europe, tourism especially the international tourism could not benefit any significance or priority for the Turkish government until 1950. “On the contrary, because of the war psychology, foreign visitors were taken with suspicion by the authorities and their arrivals tried to be reduced” (Tarhan, 1997:61). This period was the birth of New Republic and the efforts to set national policies, where tourism policies could not benefit so much importance. Therefore the first period was the years of 1923 to 1950. The initial studies of organized tourism activities took start within this period, too.

With 1950s government’s interest in Turkish tourism has started to show readiness to develop international tourism, and government understood that the tourism sector can bring the economic benefits in creating currency flow and new employment opportunities and with its being the modern means of development. Such an ever-increasing government interest in tourism industry has shown itself in various tourism organizations and institutions.

An important progress in that period of time was the enactment of the Law for Encouragement of Tourism Industry (Law numbered 6086) in 1953. The importance of this law was that it was the first attempt to set a regulation to administrate tourism facilities in accordance with a policy. The law brought a Licensing System for the tourism facilities, meaning these facilities were obliged to fulfill certain standards and service quality to obtain the Tourism Certificate.

With those requirements, it was aimed

• To reach tourism facilities to contemporary standards,

• To provide incentives i.e. a credit system for tourism activities,

• To achieve uniform standards for similar type and class of accommodation facilities,

• To introduce a new price control system for tourism licensed operations,

•To provide a checklist for new investors including necessary equipments, accessories and services needed at accommodation units of certain kind and quality (Tarhan, 1997:63)

As of the beginning of the 1960s, tourism’s employment creation and foreign currency earning features have become prominent. With the increasing share from the world’s tourism, the economic bottleneck was surpassed and tourism has become an important sector in economic development. In 1963, the Ministry of Tourism was founded. In 1968, The Ministry prepared the Western Turkey physical development study. In the end of the 1960s, tourism plans for some regions with priority were assigned to several foreign design offices. In spite of all these efforts, from 1960 to 1975, tourism investments remained at a very low level (Eraydın 1997).

With the aim to make investments to create maximum amount of accommodation facilities, which would soon increase the revenues as well, in 1963, the Turkish government put The First Five Year Development Plan (1963-1967) into force. To achieve the main aims, national parks and holiday villages were planned, tourism agreements with other countries were made, and market searches for tourism demand and supply were carried out (Olalı 1984).

In the Second Five Year Development Plan (1968-1972), the importance of national physical planning was stressed out. This plan had focused on benefiting from economic, social and cultural aspects and had foreseen the utilization of such functions (Aker and Serter, 1989). In 1969, the coastal region from Canakkale to Icel had been declared as the tourism development region to utilize the mass coastal tourism development (TURSAB).

As the following table shows, in 1963, there were 200 000 arrivals and 1 341 500 in 1973, which is if to count is a 570% increase in the period of 10 years. Tourism revenues increased from 7.7 million dollars in 1963 to 171.5 million dollars in 1973.

Table 1: Tourist arrivals and receipts of Turkey (in USD)

Source: Ministry of Tourism

At the beginning of 1980s, tourism was considered among the sectors of special importance for development and contribution to the Turkish economy. Since the Tourism sector in Turkey was relatively new, there has been the opportunity to preserve natural, cultural, historical and archaeological assets of the country. Contrary to some other countries which suffered from saturation, improper development, seriously damaging environment and many valuable natural assets as well as existing human settlements, Turkish tourism was prepared to sustain the balance between utilization and conservation and Ministry of Tourism determined certain principles when planning tourism areas (Araç, 2001; TURSAB), here they are:

• The acceptable use of natural and cultural resources,

• Sustainable tourism development in high potential tourist areas,

• Creation of efficient tourism sector with high international competitiveness,

• Harmonious tourism related constructions with natural landscape,

• Meeting the need of foreign and domestic tourists and the resident population,

• Developing social tourism facilities,

• Extending the economic benefits of tourism,

• Continuous restoration and maintenance of the natural and cultural resources,

• Protection of the tourists and hosts against adverse environmental effects

(Ministry of Tourism, 1994; Küce, 2001).

After the 1980 military coup, many important legislation changes for a more liberal economy were enacted. Among these, the Tourism Encouragement Law of 1982, Environmental Protection Law 1983 and National Parks Law can be mentioned. The Tourism Encouragement Law gave higher significance to tourism investments and the problems affecting them. Specific issues concerning land use plans and use of state owned property were thoroughly handled. In accordance with these, tourism investments increased rapidly and concentrated along the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, where almost 80 % of Turkey’s bed capacity exists (Küce 2001). In the next 10 years, the number of new establishments increased rapidly and in 1992, the bed capacity reached 219 940, while it was 65 934 in 1982 (see the previous table).

International arrivals accelerated between 1984 and 1994 by 206%, and in 1994, 8 million foreigners visited Turkey. Similar growth trend have also been observed in tourism revenues. Tourism revenues became USD 4.7 billion in 1994 with a significant increase to USD 840 million in 1984. In brief, it is clear that Turkey has experienced a rapid growth in international tourist arrivals, revenues, and bed capacity in this period.

With the beginning of 1990s, tourism policies had faced certain changes, which were (Tarhan, 1997: 66):

• Public sector participation was reduced and pilot and sample investment policy was abandoned and tourism investments operations of public sector were stopped. Existing ventures, state owned tourism facilities (TURBAN) were decided to be privatized.

• Government interferences on prices of private tourism operations were stopped. Operations were allowed to determine their prices themselves, and also to use their choice of currency unit for their prices. It was the beginning for wider use of foreign currency prices.

Tourism investments operations in the public sector and government interferences on prices of private tourism operations were stopped. While the new investments at Southern and Western Turkey were not supported, the efforts for increasing the variety of tourist activities were emphasized (Turan 1997).

Between 1994 and 2001, the tourism sector in Turkey lost its acceleration due to the Gulf war, increasing terrorist activities and the earthquake in 1999. The fall of demand due to those events resulted in considerable price reductions. Consequently, the quality of tourist arrivals and economic benefits of international tourism decreased (Tarhan 1997). When it is compared to previous years, the increase in the number of tourist arrivals and tourism revenues were very low. In 2001, 11 700 000 foreigners visited Turkey, which was an increase of 11% from the previous year.

YEARS	Tourist Arrivals	Change %	Tourism Revenues	Change %
	(1000)		(Million$)
2002	13 247	14,5	8 481	4,7
2003	14 030	5,3	9 677	14,1
2004	17 517	24,86	12 125	25,3
2005	21 122	20,59	13 929	14,8

Table 2: Tourist arrivals and tourism revenues 2002-2005

Source: Turkish Statistical Institute

The following bar chart shows information about the change in the amount of tourists that entered Turkey from 1993 until 2007. The chart compares the amount of tourists that entered Turkey to the amount of tourists that entered Turkey the previous year.

Table 4: Change in the number of visitors on a year earlier (%)

Since 2001, the tourism industry has enjoyed an instant growth. Decreasing terrorist activities, intensive investments to the coastal region, political stability and better development policies resulted in a boom in terms of arrivals. The number of tourists who visited Turkey reached up to 14 million in 2003. The year 2004 also witnessed particularly strong growth, with the number of foreign tourists reaching significant 17.5 million. The revenues obtained from foreign tourists increased to USD 12.1 billion. According to the WTO, in 2005, Turkey had the highest growth rate registered in the world’s tourism. There were 21.1 million tourist arrivals, and total revenues were estimated to 14 billion USD which made 2005 the Golden Year for the Turkish tourism industry (see previous table).

In the following table the history of Turkish tourism since the year of 1980 is demonstrated graphically.

Table 5: International tourist arrivals and tourism receipts in Turkey since 1980

Importance of Tourism in Turkey

It is not easy to measure all the economic and developmental impacts of tourism in Turkey because the various components of the industry on both the supply and demand sides are closely linked to other segments of the economy. However, related statistical figures have facilitated an examination of the importance of international inbound tourism as a source of foreign currency earnings, as an employment generator, and as a revenue source for GNP. While it is possible to evaluate the contributions of tourism to the national economy, it is difficult to measure its contribution to overall development. (Tosun, Timothy, Ozturk 2003)

Turkey adopted tourism as an alternative economic development strategy to support new export-led growth strategies, to create more jobs and to establish a favourable image on the international platform (Tosun 1998).

Since 1980, the importance and contribution of tourism to the economy in Turkey has increased rapidly, and USD 13.929 million tourism revenues accounted for 4.1% of GDP in 2005 (see the following table).

1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
Direct Employment	703 022	760 916	891 334	975 399	1 012 152	1 009 211	1 007 793
Change (%)	8,24	17,14	9,43	3,77	-0,29	-0,14
Direct + Indirect	1 757 54	1 902 290	2 228 334	2 438 498	2 530 379	2 523 026	2 519 481

Table 6: Employment in Tourism

(Source: Turkish Statistical Institute)

The tourism industry is the second largest employer after construction. It also has direct connection with 38 other sectors. In 2001, the direct employment in tourism accounted for 5.1% and the indirect employment accounted for 12.76% of the total employment (Ministry of Culture and Tourism).

Sustainable Tourism in Turkey

Turkey has been experiencing a surge in tourism activity, and is predicted to be the leading tourism destination in the Mediterranean together with Greece and Croatia by 2020. Tourism is concentrated along the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts - the southwestern Anatolian coast of Turkey - an area identified by WWF as one of the most important for nature in the Mediterranean, and is also the most impacted by mass tourism development which could lead to the irreversible loss of its biodiversity by 2020. To avoid the destruction of its fragile coastline, the Government of Turkey adopted the Integrated Coastal Management approach aimed not only at nature conservation but also at preserving social and cultural integrity.

Since the tourism sector in Turkey was relatively new, there has been the opportunity to preserve natural, cultural, historical and archaeological assets of the country. Most of the prime tourism regions remain unspoiled, in spite of the rapid growth in arrivals. Contrary to some other countries, which suffered from saturation, improper development, a seriously damaged environment and many valuable natural assets as well as existing human settlements, Turkish tourism was prepared to develop in sustainable way. In order to develop sustainable tourism, the Ministry of Tourism determined certain principles (Arac 2001), such as suitable use of natural and cultural resources, continuous restoration and maintenance of the natural and cultural resources and protection of the tourists and hosts against adverse environmental effects (Ministry of Tourism 1994).

One of the first attempts to promote sustainable tourism was already in 1989, when the Ministry of Tourism launched the ATAK project (Southwest Coast Environmental Project). The aim was to provide environmental protection along Aegean and Mediterranean coastlines and to determine the deficiencies in infrastructure system. The main objectives of the project covered a wide range of issues such as planning, designing and construction of water supply and sewerage systems; wastewater treatment and disposal facilities; solid waste disposal facilities; and pollution control studies (Küce 2001; Arac 2001).

In general, Turkish tourism policies are aiming to extend the economic benefits from tourism to the people, while ensuring that policies in the same time environmentally sound and sustainable. Some of the tasks that The Ministry of Tourism are trying to carry out are elaboration and approval of land use plans in tourism areas and centres, the promotion of the country abroad and the follow-up the intervention of governmental bodies, local administrations, professional associations; and unions and non-governmental organizations (Ministry of Culture and Tourism).

Turkey has gradually put in action a body of legislation concerning tourism in order to regulate the establishment and operation of tourism operators, promote tourism development, protect and preserve certain vulnerable areas, and provide financing for certain projects requiring heavy investment.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism strategy

Turkey's tourism sector faced rapid growth, especially after 90’s, due to mass tourism. This occurs mainly because tourists, which are coming to Turkey, choosing this place because of its geographical location and the 3 S's –sun, sea, and sand. Furthermore, Turkey has the facilities needed to host mass tourism, and also has the “all inclusive” system of the last few years for attracting the tourists, with relatively high service. The latest strategy is to attract a smaller and more elite group of tourists rather than a large crowd that spends less, in case to reorganize mass-tourism into sustainable one. Conferences, boutique hotels, hunting, scuba diving, golfing, yachting and mountain climbing are the most important elements in this latest strategy. If the Ministry's “Turkey's Tourism Strategy 2023” plan can be implemented and diversified, Turkey's dependence on mass tourism will disappear and the sector will be able to contribute to the economy in every season of the year.

As the document describes itself,” tourism strategy of Turkey- 2023 is an effort that aims at providing extensions to management and implementation of strategic planning efforts and boosting the cooperation between public and private sectors of tourism with reference to the principle of “governance”.”

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey defines the following problems in today’s situation: