The new Turkish Ambassador to South Korea vowed to double the number of annual tourists to his country from South Korea during his diplomatic posting here.

“Turkey is becoming more interesting for Koreans nowadays,” said Turkish Ambassador to South Korea Arslan Hakan Okcal in an interview with The Korea Herald at his office in Seoul on March. He said he hoped to double the number of Korean visitors to Turkey by the end of his posting.

“Sure, it is ambitious, but can I tell you one fact: Last year Turkish Airlines had only seven flights per week, but by the end of the year, (the number) will be 14 per week.” Diplomats usually serve three years in their postings.

Last year, about 200,000 South Koreans traveled to Turkey. “They are most interested in our cultural sites,” Okcal said, adding that with seven direct flights per week by Korean Airlines, there will be a total of 21 flights per week between Istanbul and Seoul.

Turkey was ranked as the sixth most popular travel destination in the world in 2012, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization. Turkey received about 35 million people in overnight arrivals.

Okcal said that recent social unrest and political turmoil will not impact the Turkish economy.

“Turkish industry and foreign policy are robust enough not to be distracted by domestic unrest,” he said. “I find the protests as part of the democratic maturity of Turkey. You have demonstrations everywhere. Sometimes they are more violent than other times.”

But Rita Lobo of Business Destinations, a luxury travel magazine, warns that social unrest and political violence could hurt Turkey’s tourism industry. An article titled “The bill for activism: how much does social unrest impact tourism?” describes recent research that warns of social unrest and political violence.

“It has been estimated that the Brazilian tourism industry is worth $11 billion, while Turkey makes something in the region of $26 billion annually. These are not small figures, and in developing countries like these, whole communities rely on this income. The loss of any of it, for any reason, can be catastrophic for the local population,” Lobo writes.

Okcal described his country, along with South Korea, as an emerging “middle power.” The foreign ministers of Turkey, South Korea, Mexico, Indonesia and Australia will convene in Mexico this month, he said.

Turkey attracts Europeans in search of time on one of the country’s many beaches that stretch for kilometers on the Mediterranean, the Aegean and the Black Sea. South Korean travelers usually go for the country’s cultural sites.

Istanbul boasts a staggering number of sites preserved from the times of ancient Rome and Byzantium. There are a treasure trove of sites remaining from the Ottoman Empire, such as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, sometimes called the “Blue Mosque,” built in the early 17th century. Another popular cultural attraction is Istanbul’s famed Spice Bazaar, with dates to about 1660.

“The Ottoman Empire was a multiracial, multicultural system. It was dominated by Turkish people, but they did not even speak their own language in the courts. There was an artificial language used, called Ottoman, in the courts,” Okcal said. “Speaking of (the Ottoman Empire as) an occupation that lasted 500 years doesn’t make sense.”

Okcal described himself as an expert on the Balkans and Central Europe. He was the Turkish Foreign Ministry’s Balkans and Central Europe Division director from 2010 to December 2013. He also served as Turkey’s ambassador to Macedonia for two years.

Okcal is a 36-year career diplomat who joined the Turkish Foreign Service in 1978 after graduating from Ankara University with a degree in political science.

“There is sometimes an analogy made between the Japanese rule over Korea and Ottoman rule over the Balkans but, in fact, in the Balkans we have a different story to tell,” he said. “The Ottoman Empire gave birth to 13 independent countries when it finally collapsed and the last one was Turkey, actually.”

On other goals during his posting, Okcal said trade relations are crucial. South Korea and Turkey have an FTA in effect now, which promises to lift two-way commerce beyond the $6.5 billion recorded in 2013.

Okcal said he aimed to increase trade by as much as 50 percent. That would put annual bilateral trade at $10 billion by 2017.

“I want trade relations to be more balanced,” he said. “The disparity in trade relations with South Korea exports to Turkey stands at a ratio of 10-to-1.” He noted, however, that a necessary first step is to encourage Turkish businessmen to explore commercial opportunities in South Korea.

By Philip Iglauer (ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)