"Turkey’s tourism sector, just like Michael Schumacher on Formula 1 circuits, breaks new records. Turkey’s booming tourism industry benefited from an enhancement in the country’s international profile last year by the movie ‘Troy’ starring Brad Pitt (see What’s Brad Pitt Got to Do with the Current Account?, May 18, 2004). And now the inaugural Formula 1 Grand Prix in Istanbul this weekend is set to become a new tourist attraction and to give an extra boost to the tourism sector, in our view. The Formula 1 races are indeed one of the most-watched sporting events in the world, providing global exposure and generating direct and indirect revenues from broadcasting and, more importantly, hospitality services. This is partly why we maintain our optimistic stance on Turkey’s tourism sector, which has already enjoyed a 25.6% year-on-year increase in the number of tourist arrivals so far this year."
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