Turkey, situated at the junction point of Asia, Europe, and Africa, occupies some 780,000square kilometers of land and is surrounded by 8,000 kilometers of coastline. Climatic conditionsvary considerably from region to region. The peninsula creates natural attractions which includevaried and unspoiled landscapes with mountains, forests, rivers, and lakes. Because of its uniquegeography and strategic location, it has attracted civilizations for thousands of years, including theepochs of prehistoric times, the Hittite period, early iron epoch, Greek period, Byzantium period,the Seljuks, and Ottomans. Asia Minor—as the peninsula was once called—has the potential tobecome a major international tourism destination and the government is working towards this goal(Kezer 1998:63–64). As such, tourism as an important part of the national economy hasattracted both interest and intervention of the government for the last 45 years. Results are alreadyapparent when tourism statistics of the past years are examined. For example, only 198,841 touristsvisited Turkey in 1963. This number increased to 8,136,056 in 1996, coupled with a similar growthin earnings from this industry (Ministry of Tourism 1996). According to WTO statistics,Turkeys annual growth rate of tourism revenues in 1996 was 31.9%, the highest increase rate amongall European countries. Thus, tourism already has an important position in the Turkish economy, initself and in respect to its 22.9% share in the total export earnings of the country, according to 1995studies. To maintain this rapid increase in tourism development, there has been a highincrease in the number of tourism educational institutions in Turkey. Formal offerings includetwo-year vocational training programs as well as four-year management schools (Pirnar 1992:27). In 1991, there were 29 two-year and 6 four-year programs. Only six years later thesenumbers increased to 54 and 14 programs, respectively (Hacioglu 1992:53). Beyond thiscommitment to tourism education and training, Turkey is also trying to adapt a modern developmentmodel where success is measured not by income, but by environmentally conscious approaches, suchas sustainable and soft forms of tourism. The objectives of Turkeys development plansare to utilize tourism resources in a way that increases contributions to national economy and toforeign currency earnings; to provide a larger portion of the population with holiday possibilities;and to maintain a balance between the utilization and protection of tourism resources (Tarhan 1995:47–51). Furthermore, Turkeys tourism policy aims to create an efficient tourism sector whichhas a high international competitive power; to meet the needs of both domestic and internationaltourists; to ensure the continuity of natural and cultural assets while a steady growth in tourismrevenues is achieved; and to develop social tourism facilities which extend the economic benefitsto the whole population. Issues pertaining to infrastructure are also recognized within the Turkishtourism development policy (Pirnar 1996:25–28). Tourism authorities have givenpriority to the establishment of terminal facilities and services in airports, the development ofcamping and other alternative forms of tourism, the provision of good quality hotel beds, and thetraining of hospitality and tourism personnel. Although the development of infrastructure isencouraged, Turkey realizes that tourism is not a miracle solution to all problems and that inadequateplanning can destroy the cultural and natural resources that it hopes to promote. Tourismimplementation plans, therefore, involve goals of minimizing environmental damage, maximizingeconomic gains, and providing local communities with appropriate training. In this context, Turkeyis working on two types of alternative tourism (Pirnar 1996). The first type includesbotanical, air balloon, water-related, thermal and health, physical recreation, religious, and culturaltourism. The second type, closely related to the first, includes camping and caravaning, birdwatching, winter sports, hunting, and golf tourism. In addition, in order to diversifyTurkeys tourism products, the Ministry of Tourism has undertaken nearly a dozen special projects,some outlined below, designed both to correct known environmental abuses and to prevent futuremisuse (Ministry of Tourism 1997). The winter sports and ski centers project is contractedto an international consortium by the governmental planning organization. Within this project thedata on winter sports is gathered and analyzed, and development procedures for five existing winterand ski centers are established. The Turkish government has applied for acceptance to the EuropeanBlue Flag campaign sponsored by the European Foundation for Environmental Education. Anotherspecial project deals with religious tourism. Turkey has been home to many different religions andthus has a potential to appeal to various religious groups such as Muslim and Christian travelers. Inorder to make improvements in this area, the government cooperatively works with local authorities. The purpose of the southwest coast environmental project is to stop currentwastewater disposal deficiencies and to prevent the future ones from polluting the sea. It targetsapproximately 2,000 kilometers of coastline along the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. The plateautourism project has the goal of diversifying and spreading tourism throughout the year. The SilkRoad project intends to revive the ancient Silk Road which was an important trade route betweenEast and West. This includes restoring and using the ancient khans, caravanserais, and inns, to allowthe tourist to have a feel for the bygone eras while using the 20th century technological advantages.Other projects intend to improve tourism activities in the Black Sea region; to increase the capacityand quality of thermal health establishments nationwide; to market running water tourism in Turkey;to develop yachting and marina capacity in a planned manner; to assure a holistic view of naturaland cultural values and resources; to improve the living and performing conditions of Turkeysdancing bears; to control the environmental quality of the coastline in the areas where tourismactivities are concentrated; to develop and implement appropriate tourism products; and to exploresuch concepts and products for senior citizen and health markets. To summarize, Turkeyhas experienced large-scale development in tourism in the past 30 years (TURSAB 1996).WTO reports reveal the nature and scope of this growing industry in this country. Increase in thenumber of trained personnel, development of tourism training activities, and development ofimproved tourism products to meet more sophisticated demand are among the augmentingdevelopments of its tourism industry. The main government concern, and hence intervention, is toplace environmental protection before economic benefits, and also to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the local and tourist populations. Further, the government tourism policy has continued tofocus on special projects, to overcome problems created by seasonal demand, to favor sustainabledevelopment, and to achieve the long-term environmentally friendly goals in tourism. These policiesand practices have already resulted in increasing Turkeys share in this very competitive tourismmarket. ?Pirnar Ige: Dokuz Eylul University, Faculty of Business, Department of TourismManagement, Buca 35160 Izmir, Turkey. Email left angle bracketpirnart@sifne.iibf.deu.edu.trright-pointing angle bracket