Turkey home of chain hotels, survey reveals
Posted by meb at August 20th, 2008
According to a survey conducted to create a profile of the accomodation sector in Turkey, group and hotel chains own 61 percent of total bed capacity in the country. The survey shows that foreign group and chains prefer big cities whereas domestic ones prefer coastal towns.
Chain hotels provide the majority of Turkey’s accommodation, with most of the business conducted by domestic companies, a recent survey has revealed.
Nearly 61 percent of Turkey’s accommodation capacity is held by group or chain hotels, with the remaining bed capacity belonging to facilities not connected to groups or chains, according to the survey titled Group and Chain Hotels in Turkey-2008, conducted by the Ekin Group Research Unit for the Mediterranean Hoteliers Association, or AKTOB. According to the survey, 152 groups and chains supply the majority of the bed capacity. The investment, operation and administration of hotels are conducted mostly by domestic companies, the report revealed.
Growing Russian interest in sector
The survey showed that in addition to U.S. and European countries, Russian companies have accelerated their investments in Turkey’s accommodation sector. Among them are Russian Intourist, which has bought five facilities of the Justiniano Group; Russian Mirax Group, which has bought Sungate Port Royal Hotel in the Mediterranean city of Antalya’s Beldibi district from Cengiz Construction Company; and a Russian businessman of Azerbaijani origin Telman Ismailov.
Foreign investors choose big cities
Foreign groups and chains in the Turkish accommodation sector prefer big cities, whereas almost all facilities in the coastal towns are operated by domestic companies, according to the results.
“Because most tourists in Turkey prefer coastal towns, the abundance of domestic chains and groups in the Turkish accommodation sector provides a big advantage for the sector,” said Fehmi Köfteoğlu of the Ekin Group Research Unit.
Köfteoğlu said the number of groups and chains had increased by 81 percent, from 84 in 2001 to 152 in 2008. According to him, 52.7 percent of total bed capacity of hotels in Turkey is operated by domestic groups and 7.6 percent is operated by foreign groups.
Köfteoğlu said that while foreigners focus on urban hotel business, almost all hotels in coastal towns are operated by domestic companies. Out of the 152 group and chain hotels in Turkey, 133 are operated by domestic companies and 19 percent by foreigners. The total bed capacity of hotels managed by a group or chain has increased from 164,000 to 338,000 in the last seven years, according to Köfteoğlu.
According to the survey, Turkish chain Dedeman Hotels, which also has facilities abroad, ranks first in the Turkish accommodation sector with 23 facilities. Joy Hotels follows it with 17 facilities.
The Joy Hotels’ Group is the leader for the total bed capacity for a domestic groups. The survey showed that Joy, though it has fewer facilities than the Dedeman group, has a higher bed capacity.
Among the foreign hotel chains, Best Western takes the lead in Turkey. Hilton takes second place with eight hotels.
In terms of total bed capacity of foreign groups, Magiclife, a part of Germany’s leading tour operator TUI and Intourist, ranks first having just purchased five facilities from Justiniano.
The domestic and foreign hotel chains with the most facilities in Turkey:
Domestic chains:
Dedeman Hotels & Resorts (23)
Joy Hotels & Resorts (17)
Princess Hotels & Resorts (11)
Foreign chains:
Best Western International (14)
Hilton International (8)
Magic Life Hotels – TUI (7)
source: Anatolian News Agency
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