Posted by meb at January 31st, 2008

Turkey Hoteliers Federation (TUROFED) President Ahmet Barut has stated that hotels, due to their high level of consumption and through other indirect means, contribute billions of dollars to the nation’s economy.

Speaking to a reporter from the Anatolia news agency, Barut noted that despite fluctuations, the tourism sector has in fact been the most rapidly developing sector in the nation over the past 20 years. “Hotels, whether they are under construction or actually up and running, engage in every kind of consumption,” Barut said, adding: “Tourism’s annual contributions to 54 sectors amount to $11.2 billion. The accommodation and dining facilities within hotels made a total of $11.2 billion in purchases and procurements over the past year. Of this amount, $5.5 billion was contributed by accommodation facilities, whereas the remaining $5.7 billion was contributed by the dining facilities of the hotel business.

Barut noted that in the coming year, another 125 hotels are expected to open across Turkey. “The investments in the 125 hotels expected to start service this year will create a 3.7 million euro market in various sectors. When you add to this the spending expected to go into the renovation of previously existing facilities in 2008, the market volume actually rises to 4.5 billion euros. During the construction of a five-star hotel, 2 million euros are spent on steel and 1.5 million euros are spent on concrete. Similarly, the cost for the basic construction of a 400-room five-star hotel is around 5.5-6 million euros, while plumbing and electrical costs are around 3.2 million euros. In hotels of this class, there are about 220 different kinds of goods and services — from furniture to textiles — that are purchased.” Barut also emphasizes that tourism is not receiving the encouragement it needs in Turkey.

source:Today’s Zaman