Ankara -- Turkish Minister of Tourism Goldal Akshit said there are historical and cultural affinities between Iran and Turkey, and expressed hope that this would help Turkey attract Iranian tourists.

Turkey wishes to attract ten times more Iranian tourists than the current rate, she added.

Turkey has developed plans to attract some three millions Iranian tourists annually, she said adding that cultural programs are to be developed jointly by Iran and Turkey.

She said Turkey expects some 15 million tourists to visit this country in 2003.

According to statistics released by Turkey's Ministry of Tourism, some 343,434 Iranian tourists visited Turkey in the first nine months of 2002.

Reportedly, the number of Iranian tourists visiting Turkey in the first nine months of 2002 shows a 33.02 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

In the first nine months of 2001, the number of Iranian tourists traveling to Turkey was 258,173 that showed a 16.64 percent decrease compared to the figures for the same period in 2000.

Iranian nationals constitute 2.68 percent of total number of foreign tourists visiting Turkey in the period under study. The figure stood at 3.68 in the same period in 2000.

Based on the information on hand, only in September 2002, some 54,701 Iranian tourists visited Turkey -- a figure which showed a 46.75 percent increase compared to the figure for the corresponding month in 2001.

In 2001, 327,013 Iranian tourists visited Turkey, registering a 14.14 percent decline compared to the figure for the same period the year before.

Iranian tourists mostly visit Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, and the Turkish port cities on the Mediterranean Sea, especially Antalya, IRNA reported.

Turkey's tourism sector attracted 10,604,584 tourists in the first nine months of 2002. The number of tourists showed 10.7 percent rise compared to the same period in 2001.

Turkey gets some dlrs 8 billion annually through tourism industry, and tourism plays a key role in this country's national economy.