Turkey to reopen tourism facilities: Minister

As of July, Turkey will resume all those tourism facilities planned to be reopened as part of normalization process, said the country's culture and tourism minister on Wednesday.

Speaking to CNN Turk, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy commented on the revival of tourism in the country.

"In tourism, there is no other country that has done certification better and more reliable than Turkey," the minister said.

Emphasizing that Turkey needs to adapt to a new normal, the minister talked about the new measures that the country's hotspot airports will take.

"As of today, tourists from Germany will come to Turkey. When foreign visitors come, they will be health-checked, and body temperatures will be measured. If there is a suspicion, tourists will be taken for a PCR test. These measurements will start in Antalya, Bodrum, Dalaman, Izmir, Istanbul airports, the country's provinces with the most tourist attraction," Ersoy said.

The country's main priority in this process is to resume air traffic to all countries, according to the minister.

"We are hoping to increase air traffic in July," he said, adding the process of opening air traffic for most countries in the world would complete in August.

"We have sent letters to at least 60 countries which provide most tourists to Turkey. We have informed them of Turkey's tourism certification program, and our enhanced hospital infrastructures," he added.

To a question about the reopening of Hagia Sophia for worship, Ersoy said: "If the court decision comes through [to open Hagia Sophia for worship], I will not be worried about tourism, we will find a solution."

Hagia Sophia, called by historians the Eighth Wonder of the World, is one of the most-visited museums in the world and a gem of architectural history.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stated his intent to restore Hagia Sophia's mosque status, and recently allowed a special Quran reading there.

Turkey on Wednesday reported 2,241 more recoveries, 17 deaths and 922 more cases of the coronavirus.

The pandemic has killed more than 413,100 people worldwide, with over 7.29 million confirmed cases and more than 3.41 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.