After 1980, the economic and structural changes in Turkey affected the tourism sector as
well. While the economy became export oriented, the significance of tourism as one of the
main income generators for the national economy increased. After the tourism
encouragement laws of 1982, coastal and developed regions received most of the
investment capital in order to increase tourism revenue. However, property development
interests and the idea of expanding bed capacity decided the level of subsidies, rather than
an integrated approach which took into account cultural attractions.