Turkey has recently witnessed remarkable growth in its tourism sector, particularly over the last two years. The country recorded over 26 million visitors in 2008 and despite the global economic climate numbers are expected to reach 33 million by 2012. This news comes from a recent report by RNCOS, “Turkey Tourism Industry Forecast to 2012”.
According to Europe’s second largest travel operator, Thomas Cook, the hottest ticket this summer is a holiday in Turkey and it is no surprise why thousands of Britons are expected to visit in 2009.
Turkey is the ideal family holiday location. It offers a reliable climate, beach resorts, excellent quality Turkish property, water sports, land based activities and all at a lower cost compared to Western Europe. Figures report a 12 percent rise in overseas visitors. A further 20 percent increase in the number of British tourists is anticipated in 2009, according to an undersecretary of the Tourism Ministry. Read More
According to the Sunday Times, 19th April, Turkey is becoming increasing popular destination with both tourists and those looking for holiday homes. Cheap holidays (never more so than now, as Brits clamor to escape the eurozone) and holiday homes have been made more appealing by the relative weakness of the Turkish lira, which has remained fairly steady against the pound over the past year, while the euro has surged.
Turkey Property is available at a low cost within areas such as Altinkum, the Benidorm of the Aegean coast, where you can still buy a new flat for as little as £25,000, although strong domestic demand has meant the country has avoided a Spanish-style collapse. Slowly but surely, however, high-quality properties with real architectural appeal are cropping up along the coastlines, particularly the southwest stretch from Bodrum to Kas, where most of the 21,000 British property owners in Turkey have bought. Read More
As mentioned before, the International Tourism Exchange (ITB) exhibition in Berlin commenced on the 11th of March. On the first day of the event, the Project Leader of the ITB Messe Berlin GmbH awarded the “Golden Needle” to Erol Ozudogru, the Counsellor of Turkey. This was awarded to highlight the special commitment of the Counsellor for his successful work for the ITB.
This event was hosted by the German tourism industry and co-hosted by the Turkish tourism ministry. Besides his commitment, Turkey’s Counsellor provided ITB with his ideas, opinions and hard work in promoting Turkey. Read More
Global Refund Turkey has recorded an increase of 38% in Tax Free shopping in January and February in 2009, compared to statistics from the same months in 2008.
The report claimed that people from the Russian Federation and Northern Cyprus used this tax free system most frequently. Compared to 2008, the percentage of purchases made this year increased across all tourist nationalities, with tourists from Iran, Kuwait and Kazakhstan coming out top.
Turkey has over 6,000 Turkish shopping outlets which currently offer the Global Refund Tax Service. This service is an integral part of Turkish tourism and their strategy to attract nationalities to their country and sample not only the local delicacies but also view the Turkey property on offer.
Some may be aware that that the 43rd edition of the ever popular European travel exhibition commenced on the 11th of March. The International Tourism Bourse, or ITB, basically offers an opportunity for the representatives of the global travel industry to come together. In 2008, the ITB exhibition recorded 177,891 visitors that were attracted by 11,147 exhibitors from 180 countries. This year the exhibition will take place in Berlin, till the 15th of March.
Many countries worldwide are participating in this fair, with the Turkish tourism ministry being one of ITB’s co-host. Dubai tourism department, DTCM, has also shown their interest in the exhibition by organising and sending a group of senior delegation to promote the ever popular Dubai Shopping Festival in the ITB. It is encouraging to see countries such as Turkey and Dubai invest in their tourism sector and how such investment ambitions are unhindered by the current global economic climate.
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Several countries around the world are focusing on increasing liquidity in their respective markets due to the global economic climate. Turkey has ensured this by launching the “wealth amnesty” program. This program basically ensures that all Turkish citizens are able to invest funds back into their country with ease. Such incentives and policies have ensured that Turkey and Turkey property is, to an extent, protected from the current global economic climate.
Turkish and Iranian ministers of transportation have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) yesterday in Tehran. The Turkish transport minister also met with the Iranian president, during his visit to Tehran.
Turkish Transportation Minister, Binali Yildirim, and his Iranian counterpart, Hamed Behbahani, finalised the MoU that will cover land, air and sea based transportation between the two countries. Turkey and Iran’s transportation officials will also aim to reach $20 billion in trade volume between the countries. Read More
Bodrum is already one of Turkey’s most popular holiday hot spots, but the region is continuously looking at improving its other aspects. Bodrum’s summit, entitled Mediterranean Local Administration Partnership Program, is one of the many ways the region is looking to improve its local economic prosperity.
Bodrum’s summit welcomed delegations from five other countries that included Morocco, Italy, Lebanon, Macedonia and Croatia. One of the delegates speaking at the summit praised Bodrum, highlighting its importance for Turkey. Read More
Turkey ‘s Tourism Boosts Real Estate Market
It is no secret that Turkey’s tourism sector is performing very well at the moment. It’s the only European destination to experience an increase in tourists this year and one of the only counties in the world to gain, rather than loose US visitors this year.
This strong performance has been attributed to several factors which make Turkey an attractive holiday choice, Read More »