UPDATE - Turkish FM expects 50 million tourists in 2023

UPDATES WITH ANOTHER SPEECH OF CAVUSOGLU

By Leyla Ataman Koyuncuoglu

ANTALYA, Turkey (AA) - Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Monday he hoped Turkey will attract 50 million tourists by 2023 and generate a revenue of $50 billion.

Speaking at an event organized by Turkey Tourism Investors Association in southern Antalya province, Mevlut Cavusoglu said there has been a significant increase in number of tourists in 2018.

"There is a significant increase in tourists this year. Therefore, we are moving towards 50 million with decisive steps. Hopefully, we will reach 50 million tourists and $50 billion revenue by 2023," Cavusoglu said.

Cavusoglu said there is some disinformation on social media claiming that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism will be shut down.

He said that the claims were incorrect, however, the government is currently discussing if the two ministries should be separate entities or not.

"There are different opinions on this topic," Cavusoglu added.

- Economic attack on Turkey

Speaking during his visit to Antalya Commodity Exchange, Cavusoglu said currency fluctuations and the games cannot stop Turkey, referring to the recent volatility of the exchange rate between the Turkish lira and the U.S. dollar.

"We know and see that this is an economic attack and not a conspiracy theory. We know its origin," Cavusoglu said.

He said the attack was planned and executed step by step after the defeated coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016.

Cavusoglu said some financial institutions, countries and services are involved in it.

"We know the origins of all this, we know very well what they are doing and we are following it. We also take our measures. We will see altogether after June 24 that all these efforts will go to waste," he added.

Last April, the parliament passed a bill for early elections on June 24, cementing Turkey’s move to a presidential system.

In the April 2017 referendum, Turkish voters had approved the switch from a parliamentary system to a presidential one.