North Cyprus took part in one of the largest tourism fairs in order to attract more visitors and attention to country. 17th Eastern Mediterranean International Tourism and Travel Exhibition is the fifth largest of its kind and was held in Istanbul from last Thursday to Monday. The exhibition was attended by 4,500 people from more than 70 countries. Representatives of North Cyprus treated visitors to coffee, almonds, traditional Hellim cheese, and olive oil. Undersecretary of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Sahap Asikoglu, said the exhibition was successful and Northern Cyprus will take part in 35 such events this year. He also added that rapid increase in number of tourists from UK, Turkey and the Netherlands is expected. In 2012, more than 400,000 tourists visited Northern Cyprus from Turkey, and that number will rise by 40,000 in 2013.