The Middle East Tourism Exhibition (METEX) 2012 in Ankara gathered hundreds of tourism professionals from more than 30 countries earlier this year in a bid to welcome Arab nations and lure tourists from the Middle East. The event was organized by Mercan Tourism, the leading Turkish Travel and Tourism Agency, based in Istanbul specializing in Middle East Tourism. METEX presented its participants opportunities to facilitate a journey to shape the future for Turkey's tourism industry through the exhibition. It also paved the way for travel agents, hotels and various media professionals to come together and form new business relations to be able to utilize opportunities with the tourism industry. METEX is a business-to-business tourism event between major Turkish suppliers in the tourism industry, inclusive of all regions with hotels, airline companies and Middle East's major travel agencies. Junaid Mengu, the CEO of Mercan Tourism hosted the exhibition and introduced Turkey to Arab tourists and Middle East travel agencies. Mengu told Saudi Gazette that 70,000 tourists from the Middle East visited Turkey last year. “But Turkey has an aim and for its 100th anniversary that is by 2023, we plan to achieve a goal of 60 million tourists. METEX is an exhibition that takes place between specialized tourism markets, Turkey and the Middle East, where the idea is to present and introduce new regions in Turkey and new opportunities for the tourism companies to choose the best for their clients in the Middle East.” Mengu said tourism is leading the world economy and that it is able to raise the standard economic conditions while creating jobs and income for people in the country. “Also tourism is keeping an eye on the Eco tourism and the culture of the country so each region is trying to show its culture and its history.” Junaid said that according to a report published by World Tourism Organization, in 2020 one billion and 600 million tourists around the world would have traveled between countries. “Each country shall take its share. Turkey has very strong elements to offer tourists from the Middle East and Arab countries. We in Turkey are ready to welcome all our friends from the Arab world for this summer.” Ali R?za from Mercan said that only up to five percent of tourists from the Middle East choose Turkey as a holiday destination, while the remaining 95 percent travel to other Gulf countries. “Turkey gets 32 million tourists a year. We get more tourists from Germany and Russia.” Raza said he wants to concentrate on the Arab countries and encourage more Muslim tourists to visit and learn about this history of Turkey. During the exhibition, new market expansion policies, cooperation opportunities, new destinations and “Innovation for the Tourism” were discussed. Ranging from North Africa to the Arab Peninsula, from Balkans to the Caspian Sea, tourism activities were scrutinized and developed. Mercan team offered warm Turkish hospitality to all buyers and media personnel who flew on Turkish Airlines to Ankara. Turkish Airlines offered the organizers 100 free tickets for different routes offered throughout the Middle East.
