The tourism sector has emerged as a pylon of economic growth and stability, a fact that will be confirmed with the signing of a protocol of cooperation between Greece and Turkey, it was underlined on Wednesday during the 8th Greece-Turkey Forum on Tourism.

Addressing the forum, culture and tourism minister Pavlos Yeroulanos underlined that target markets for the two countries should include India, China, Japan and North America, while he focused on the obstacles that need to be overcome, namely, simplification of visa issuance procedures.

He also referred to the importance of joint travel packages offered by Greece and Turkey, ones that will feature common tourism products, such as familiarisation trips and promotion programmes.

On his part, Turkey's culture and tourism minister, Ertugrul Gunay, praised the atmosphere existing between the two countries and underlined that the Aegean can serve as a “life vest” amid the economic crisis. He also said joint participation of the two countries in international tourism exhibitions in shared pavilions is very important move, one aimed at attracting specialised markets.

As regards the spectrum of bilateral cooperation, the Turkish minister stressed that it ranges from attracting investments to developing sea cruise and religious tourism, suggesting that a forum should be held at least every two years.