Tourists: Turkey still safe to visit

NEVSEHIR

Turkey has been going through hard times recently, but it does not seem to concern some of the tourists visiting the country’s Cappadocia area – a location which host around 2.5 million visitors ever year.

"Turkey is a magnificent country. Contrary to my expectation, I have not encountered a problem since I came here," said Timmy Myers, an American first-time visitor to the central Anatolian region.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Myers said that he had prejudged Turkey due to political issues before he visited.

"Cappadocia is in touch with nature and is really safe. When I am back to America I will strongly recommend my friends visit here," he says.

Turkey ranked sixth among the world's top destinations in terms of tourist numbers in 2014, according to a World Tourism Organization June 2015 report.

However, it has recently been listed as a potential target for violence and become embroiled in conflict with Daesh and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). There has been a string of deadly attacks on the country's security forces since the July 20 Suruc suicide bombing in southeastern Turkey which killed 32 people. Turkey has responded to the bloodshed by arresting more than 1,000 suspected supporters of groups such as Daesh and the PKK, and significantly stepping up security measures.

Kuwaiti national Sharifa Habash said she visited Turkey every year: "I love Turkey very much. Turkey is quite a safe place."

Liu Xiao and Yu Nan from China also praised the Turkish people: "People are so sincere here. We loved it here," they said.

According to Mustafa Durmaz, an official from Cappadocia Tourism Development Cooperation, there is an increase in the number of the domestic and foreign visitors this year.

"Both [sets of] tourists can visit the area with peace of mind, " Durmaz said.

However, according to Turkey’s tourism ministry, foreign arrivals were down in June.

The ministry’s report said that the number of foreigners arriving in Turkey in June 2015 was 4,123,109, a 4.89 percent decrease from the same month in the previous year.