ANKARA (AA) - Archeological excavations in Turkey have doubled in the last ten years, up from 57 in 2002 to over a hundred this year. This is just one of the many positive statistics to come out of a survey conducted by the Turkey-Europe Education and Scientific Research Foundation (TAVAK) into spending in the countries' cultural sector, including museums, archaeology and cinema over the last ten years.
Another factor that has influenced the upbeat results is the fact that the budget allocated to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has increased by a quarter to over $271 million over the last two years.
The report also indicated that the number of museum visitors increased fourfold from 7.4 million in 2002 to 28.4 million over the past decade and subsequently income from museums and historical places is up tenfold from 26 million turkish lira in 2002 to 254 million in 2013.
The Ministry also increased financial support for the film industry, which has a presence in Europe, but has prospered more recently in the Arab world.
While financial support for the film industry from 1990-2004 had been $5.7 million, the figure reached a total of $108.4 million over the last seven years.
In the decade leading to 2013, the number of cinemagoers doubled from only 23.5 million in 2002 to 42.3 million today. The number of Turkish films made increased from just 9 in 2002 to 70 in 2011, the report indicated.
by Burcu Özer
