Promising Future in Culture and Tourism

Mehmet Nuri Ersoy Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye underlines the significance of mutual cooperation

It gives us great pleasure to see that a new era has begun between Türkiye and the UAE.

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, visit to Türkiye at the invitation of our H.E. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and our President’s visit to the UAE demonstrate the level achieved in bilateral relations.

It is not uncommon to see conflicts between countries in the history of international relations. Even during the period of conjectural tensions between the two countries, ties of dialogue between Türkiye and UAE remained robust.

We are well aware that among the countries visited by visitors from the UAE, Türkiye is a top choice.

Visitors from the UAE get a first-hand look at our country’s natural splendours, cultural riches, and cutting-edge tourism infrastructure.

In addition, halal tourism opportunities and holiday resorts with the halal tourism concept put our country one step ahead of other countries in terms of the preferences of UAE citizens. Our country offers appealing holiday opportunities to its visitors in winter tourism as well as in summer tourism.

In order to increase the number of tourists exploring Türkiye, our Ministry is launching a comprehensive promotion campaign that will use all available communication channels. Our digital promotion platform “goturkiye.com” that we have launched displays Türkiye’s cultural and natural treasures in all their glory.

Our Arabic promotion on this platform also provides a very detailed service. I recommend all UAE citizens planning a vacation abroad should check out “goturkiye.com” and discover all the beauties of our country.

More tourists from the UAE

As Türkiye’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, I would like to see more people from the UAE visiting our country. After the global Covid-19 pandemic, our country acted quickly and launched the ‘Safe Tourism Certification Program’. We are the first country in the world to implement the Safe Tourism Certification Program. Our program set a precedent for others to follow.

All kinds of measures have been taken for tourists visiting our country, starting from the airport, in museums, ancient cities, hotels and tourist attractions. Visitors to our country last year had no problems thanks to the measures in place.

The most popular Turkish tourist destinations for UAE visitors are Istanbul, Bursa, Bolu, Trabzon, Yalova, Rize, and Antalya. I’m particularly pleased that Antalya, my hometown, is one of the most popular cities.

Update on the cultural agreement

Within the scope of the “Cultural Agreement” signed between our countries on August 9, 1984, activities were organised to develop cultural exchanges; we are planning to restart this process.

Our colleagues are negotiating the renewal of the existing cultural cooperation agreement in today’s conditions. We also intend to make significant amendments to it.

Our country actively participates in the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair and the Sharjah International Book Fair. At our national stand, set up by our Ministry, free meeting desks are provided to our publishers, enabling Turkish and United Arab Emirates publishers to exchange copyright.

A delegation consisting of the members of the Executive Board of the Emirates Publishers Association also attended the 6th International Istanbul Arabic Books and Culture Days. At the expo, potential initiatives targeted at boosting commercial and partnership prospects between the two nations in the sphere of publishing were addressed.

Since 2005, we have offered financial support to ten publishing houses in the United Arab Emirates through our Ministry’s TEDA Translation and Publishing Support Program for the translation of 68 works from Turkish to Arabic.

Every week, 85 flights bring the two nations together

Transportation between Türkiye and the UAE is rather simple. Türkiye is reachable within 4-5 hours through direct flights. We can host a guest who sets off in the morning in our country at noon.

In this context, Turkish Airlines operates seven weekly flights to Abu Dhabi International Airport and twenty-one weekly flights to Dubai International Airport.

When the number of flights of other private airlines is added, the total number of weekly departures from the United Arab Emirates is 85.

I might accompany our President on his visit to your country, but I’d also like to meet with my counterpart. I would be honoured to host my esteemed colleague in Türkiye. I am confident that our relations will rapidly develop to a high level in a short period of time.