Turkey bid to boost foreign tourist numbers

Turkey has launched a major tourism drive in a bid to attract 33 million foreign visitors to the country this year.

A host of projects have been set up to tempt golfers, sun seekers and those in search of thermal spas to holiday in Turkey.

Culture minister Ertugrul Gunay said 69 new tourism areas were being opened in and around 24 cities around the country.

Tourism chiefs also want to bring in more visitors to coastal areas, where family holidays are popular, and mountain regions with a third of the new destinations based around the country's thermal springs.

A 300-bed facility is being built at Kayakoy, 8km south of Fethiye, with other projects including boosting the infrastructure of Oludeniz in south-western Turkey and restoring an ancient theatre at Telmessos to its former glory.

Gunay said: "There are many interesting developments in the area and we would like to finish the promised restoration on time."