The Turkish tourism sector should not be carried away with the thought of making profits in the short term, according to the CEO of travel company Thomas Cook.

Speaking at a meeting organized in the Fethiye district of the western city of Muğla on Wednesday, Thomas Cook CEO Manny Fontela said Turkey should take important steps to keep up with its rivals in the tourism sector.

“In 2010, Turkey’s competitors such as Spain, Greece or Tunisia will be more aggressive in the industry,” said Fontela. “Turkey should take serious steps.

“For example, in some airports, city tolls are too high. Lowering those taxes may be an important step.”

This year has seen some of Turkey’s competitors suffer serious chutes, according to Fontela, who believes that Turkey should turn the situation into a bigger success.

“Greece has slumped 23 percent, while Spain and Tunisia had slides of 10 and 8 percent respectively this year. Turkey can do even better than this,” said Fontela. “Now what the Turkish tourism sector has to do is to steer away from aiming for short-term profits.

“Clients want to know how much they will spend, so they want all-inclusive deals in hotels,” he said. “Turkey has some of the best hotels but tourists are also concerned about towns’ infrastructure and environmental conditions.”