Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at April 26th, 2011

Some 2.1 million tourists visited Turkey in the first quarter of 2011, an increase over last year, the Turkish Hoteliers’ Federation, or TÜROFED, said last week, Anatolia news agency reported.

According to a TÜROFED tourism report, the first-quarter numbers for 2011 were 17.6 percent rise over last year’s figures of 1.8 million for the same period.

“The first-quarter figures indicate we can easily achieve our year-end target,” TÜROFED Chairman Ahmet Barut said at a press conference in Istanbul. Turkey received most of its tourists from Germany, Russia and Britain. (more…)

Posted by meb at October 3rd, 2009

Turkish businessman Fettah Tamince, the chairman of luxury hotel chain Rixos, was received by Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov on Friday and briefed the president on his company’s investment projects in Turkmenistan. Meeting with Berdimuhammedov at his office, Tamince explained the Rixos hotel chain’s planned investment projects in Turkmenistan’s Avaza tourism zone.

The Turkmen president expressed approval and called for more foreign investors to actively participate in the country-wide project. (more…)

Posted by meb at April 14th, 2009

A reduction of the value-added tax (KDV) in the real estate sector, part of government’s efforts to fend off the ongoing global financial crisis, has led to an increase in the sale of residences in Turkey’s prominent tourism destinations.

After experiencing a 70 percent contraction in sales amid global financial turmoil, real estate agents in Alanya and Bodrum said sales had increased by 40 percent in just the last few weeks compared to the period prior to the KDV cut. Upon hearing of the tax break, parties interested in buying property here came from Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Ireland. (more…)

Posted by meb at March 20th, 2009

Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Ertuğrul Günay said on Wednesday that despite the ongoing global financial crisis, he expected no change in the number of Russian tourists visiting Turkey in 2009 compared to last year.

Speaking at a press conference held at the Moscow International Travel & Tourism Exhibition (MITT), the minister said: “Relations between Turkey and Russia continue to grow in all fields. Tourism and cultural relations with Russia are developing in a positive direction.” (more…)

Posted by meb at March 15th, 2009

TUI Türkiye, the Turkish branch of TUI Travel PLC, one of the world’s leading international leisure travel groups, is fostering interest in the Turkish tourism industry by improving the quality and enhancing the content of its services, which explains the ever-rising demand for the company’s services from customers worldwide, even during the prevailing uncertainty that is mostly attributed to the ongoing global financial crisis. (more…)

Posted by meb at March 10th, 2009

The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism is attending the world’s largest travel and trade fair, the International Tourism Bourse (ITB) Berlin, which begins today.

With the slogan “The perfect holiday starts here,” the fair offers an excellent opportunity for travel industry representatives to come together. With 11,147 exhibitors, comprising 8,540 foreign and 2,607 German parties, ITB Berlin 2009 is being held on 160,000 square meters of floor space at the Messe Berlin fairgrounds. Almost 180,000 visitors have already registered to attend the fair, which runs through March 15. In order to make the fair as convenient as possible for visitors, organizers have arranged market segments thematically so visitors will have no problem finding their way within the enormous fair space. Market segments that are expected to be particularly popular include among others culture tourism, travel technology, health tourism and cruises. (more…)

Posted by meb at February 26th, 2009

The lira’s depreciation against the euro and the dollar will bring about positive results for tens of thousands of Turks who rely on tourism for their livelihood, the British economy daily Financial Times claimed yesterday.

Noting that the lira has fallen by about one-third against the dollar and nearly a fifth against the euro, the daily reported that this situation is creating a reason for Europeans to choose Turkey as their holiday destination, since foreign visitors will now be able to enjoy the same service with much less expense in Turkey.

The daily cited Ahmet Barut, chairman of the Turkish Hoteliers’ Federation (TÜROFED), who said being out of the eurozone has become an advantage for Turkish businesses, specifically tourism operators. (more…)

Posted by meb at February 25th, 2009

Turkish Airlines (THY), Turkey’s national air carrier, will initiate flights between the Central Anatolian province of Eskişehir and the Belgian capital of Brussels, Turkey’s Civil Aviation Directorate said on Tuesday. (more…)