Turkey is the sixth-most visited country in the world with 35.7 million arrivals in 2012, according to United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) rankings released in August. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the total contribution of travel and tourism to the GDP was TRY155.8 billion (about Dh289.06 billion) or 10.9 per cent of GDP in 2012, and is forecast to rise by 3.7 per cent in 2013, and to rise by 3.7 per cent a year to TRY232 billion in 2023.
The government is keen for the sector to grow. According to WTTC, travel and tourism investment in the sector was TRY30.4 billion or 10.5 per cent of total investment in 2012. “It should rise by 4.9 per cent in 2013, and rise by 5.7 per cent a year over the next ten years to TRY55.6 billion in 2023 (10.9 per cent of the total),” the report says.
Step-by-step to 60 million:
Turkey aims to reach 48.5 million tourists annually between 2014 and 2018, a 4.6 per cent increase over the 2007-2012 period, and increase tourism income per visitor to $932 (Dh3,423), a 2.3 per cent increase, in accordance with the targets defined in its latest economic development plan, local media reports. With the spotlight on 2023, which marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic, tourism is set to grow. According to the plan published in 2007, the target is for annual tourist arrivals to reach 50 million by 2023 and for revenues from the sector to reach $50billion. However, subsequent reports this year put the target at 60 million tourists by 2013. A report by Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism says that 1.2 million beds in the coastal areas and big cities, as well as 500,000 beds for health tourism, 100,000 beds for winter tourism and 100 golf courses have been planned for 2023.
Gulf travellers:
Turkey is looking at the Middle East for growth in tourist numbers. This October, Turkish Airlines offered 50 per cent reduction in airfares from various GCC countries. According to a statement by the airline, it had a 53 per cent increase in passenger traffic in the first eight months of 2013, as compared to the same period in 2012, from Abu Dhabi, a 68 per cent increase from Kuwait and 16 per cent from Saudi Arabia.
Recently, the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism held its first bilateral travel and tourism workshop in Dubai to focus on strategies for joint cooperation and development of tourism between the two countries in the short and long term.
Turkey has also introduced an electronic visa facility for Saudi nationals this year. Visitors can pay a small fee to have the visas issued electronically in less than three minutes through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.
Room supply:
Turkey has the advantage of being a tourism hotspot traditionally. Recent years have seen many global hotel companies show interest in Turkey, and especially Istanbul, for expansion or entry.
According to STR Global, a consultancy in the hospitality sector, 58 hotels with 9,471 rooms are in the development pipeline in Turkey, nearly half of which (27 hotels with 5,447 rooms) are under development in Istanbul.
Marriott is adding two more to its inventory of nine this year. International hotels major Wyndham opened its first property in the country in 2007 and now has 18 hotels with 2,700 rooms. It has nine more Ramada hotels and an additional Wyndham in the pipeline for Turkey. It has signed a deal to build 20 properties in the next ten years. Hilton has opened seven properties this year under its various brands. Fairmont Hotels and Resorts will enter the Turkish market in 2016 with the opening of a 210-room hotel and branded residences in a new mixed-use development in Istanbul. Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts opened its first hotel in Istanbul, a 186-room property.
Build-operate-transfer airports:
Infrastructure is one of the biggest requirements of an ambitious tourism policy. Early this year the Turkish government announced its plans to build the world’s largest airport in Istanbul to be constructed under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) and transfer of rights (TOR) models. Turkey is a already well known for aircraft maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) due to its low costs and geographical position.
Expansion plans include more aircraft and airports. According to a report released in September 2013 by Business Monitor International, a business intelligence provider, “Over the forecast period [2013–17], the Turkish civil aviation authority plans to increase its fleet size to 750 aircraft and expects to build three airports to accommodate 60 million passengers annually.”
Destination of choice:
Germany has long been the biggest source market for Turkey. According to statistics of the Culture and Tourism Ministry, five million German tourists visited Turkey in 2012, 15.8 per cent of the total number. This was followed by Russia, the UK, Bulgaria, Georgia, the Netherlands, Iran, France, the US and Syria. Despite the economic crisis, Turkey’s popularity with tourists has continued to rise, perhaps due to its relative value. This may explain the fact that the country is not anywhere in the top ten in terms of tourism receipts — Italy was at number six with $41.2 billion whereas, Turkey stood at $25,653 million, according to UNWTO.
Language and other barriers:
Language remains an issue for tourists visiting Turkey’s rural areas. However, there is an increased awareness to make the country friendly to speakers of many languages.
Turkey’s official tourism portal Go Turkey.com, initially available only in English, can now be viewed in four more languages — Turkish, French, German and Russian. According to information on the website, it operates as an information centre for visitors. The blog, where visitors can share their experiences and impressions of different locations and sights, is monitored at all times.
Health tourism boost:
Last year, several legislative changes were adopted to promote medical tourism, which is expected to contribute to the growth in health and wellness tourism. This year, East Mediterranean International Tourism and Travel Exhibition (EMITT) saw an increased focus on the sector in Turkey. World-class hospitals, vision and dental facilities, hair transplant centres, thermal plants, medicinal mineral water sources, aesthetic and wellness centres, as well as spas and wellness resorts are all part of the strategy.
