Turkey’s Urfa targets Japan as a tourist

The Turkish state of Şanlıurfa (south) hosted representatives of 7 Japanese tourism agencies as part of efforts to increase the attraction of tourists from the Far East to the state.

A few days ago, representatives of 7 Japanese tourism agencies arrived in Istanbul to participate in an event organized by the Turkish Tourism Development Agency.

As part of their visit to Turkey, the state of Şanlıurfa hosted representatives of Japanese tourism agencies and gave them a tour of the historical and tourist places in the state.

During the tour, the Japanese delegation visited the Archaeological Museum of Sanliurfa and was briefed on the most prominent historical artifacts discovered in

The Japanese delegation participated in the inauguration of the “Kopkli Tepe” exhibition of contemporary art, which was organized at the museum with the contribution of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The guest delegation visited the important historical and tourist places in the city, such as the Stone Age site of Kobekli Tepe and the “Fish Lake”, where what is believed to be the shrine of the Prophet Ibrahim al-Khalil.

Aydin Aslan, Director of Culture and Tourism in Şanlıurfa, said that the state is witnessing an annual increase in the number of foreign tourists, especially after the decline of the Corona pandemic.

Aslan stated that a visitor to Urfa can easily notice the large number of foreign tourists, especially in the historical site of “Kopliktepe”.

He added, “The historical site of Kobekli Tepe has turned into a distinctive mark not only in Turkey, but also in the whole world.”

He pointed out that the history of the site dates back to more than 12,000 years, i.e. to the Stone Age, and it has now become a place that all tourists interested in antiquities and cultural tourism in the world want to see.

Aslan said, it may be ranked among the top three most important tourist sites in Turkey.

He pointed out that the Turkish tourism promotion and development agencies worked with dedication, especially during the outbreak of the Corona epidemic, in order to support the tourism sector and hosted a wide range of journalists, representatives of travel and tourism agencies, bloggers and social media celebrities.

Aslan said that “in this context, the state of Şanlıurfa hosted representatives of Japanese tourism agencies and briefed them on the most prominent historical and archaeological sites and the tourism infrastructure that the state enjoys.”

He stressed that work has been done with the members of the delegation to increase the number of Japanese tourists to Sanliurfa.

In turn, professional tour guide Ahmed Fuzoli Bulut said that he has been working in the field of tourist guides for years and has recently worked closely with Japanese tourists.

Bulut pointed out that the Japanese interest in Turkey has gradually increased recently, and said: Recently, promotional publications in Japanese have increased.

He pointed to the increase in the number of Japanese tourism agencies willing to work with their counterparts in Turkey.

While Masahiko Matose, one of the owners of Japanese travel agencies, said, “ShanliUrfa has a very long history.”

He added, “I did not expect this historical, cultural and civilizational depth. This city really has a wonderful history and when we go to Japan we will increase the interest of Japanese tourists in Turkey and we will tell them what we saw.”

He expressed his belief that many Japanese tourists will come to Turkey, which has many attractive things.