Nihan Bekar Named Director of Turkish Culture and Tourist Office in NY
M. Tolunay Yilmaz appointed Deputy Director
DECEMBER 3, 2009 - The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey has appointed Ms. Nihan Bekar as the new Director of the Turkish Culture and Tourist Office in New York. In this role Bekar is responsible for overseeing the country's tourism marketing strategy in the United States and Canada. The appointment was a promotion from Bekar's previous role as Deputy Director; the Ministry has brought Ms. M. Tolunay Yilmaz from their head office in Ankara to serve in this position in the New York office.
Bekar has worked with Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism since 2002. She held various positions in the Ministry's Foreign Affairs Department until December 2007, when the Ministry appointed her to the Office of Culture and Tourism in New York.
Yilmaz joined the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2004. In her five years in the Ministry, she has served as a Culture and Tourism expert for the General Directorate of Promotion, and as a coordinator of a European Union Working Group responsible for working toward Turkey's potential membership in the EU.
“I am honored to be appointed to this position by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism,” said Bekar. “Yilmaz, myself and the entire team here at the Turkish Culture and Tourist Office in New York look forward to building upon the recent successes Turkey has achieved in terms of visitors from North America. Since 2006 Turkey has seen a 30% increase in tourism from the United States and we will work to continue moving in this positive direction, attracting more North Americans to visit our fascinating country.”
For more information on Turkey, call 1-877-FOR-TURKEY or contact the Turkish Culture and Tourist Offices in New York at 212-687-2194; in Los Angeles at 323-937-8066; or in Washington, D.C., at 202-612-6800, and visit their Web sites at www.tourismturkey.org or www.goturkey.com . Take a virtual tour of Turkey here.
About Turkey
Turkey is a modern country with a captivating blend of antiquity and contemporary and of East and West. The cradle of civilization and center of world history today stands as one of the fastest-growing tourism destinations in the world. Turkey was the site of the first human settlement; the seat of the Byzantine, Roman and Ottoman Empires; the birthplace of Homer and the last home of the Virgin Mary, just to name a few. Today Turkey, with its spectacular coastline, majestic mountains, cosmopolitan cities and quaint villages, is one of the world's most fascinating destinations.
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