Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at November 15th, 2008

Japan’s Mitsubishi group and Turkish car rental company Intercity are to invest $3 billion over four years in Turkey’s rental car market.

Intercity Chief Financial Officer Mete Önol told Reuters Mitsubishi will take a 45 percent stake in Intercity. He declined to give a value for the stake. “Mitsubishi Corp and Mitsubishi UFJ will take a 45 percent stake in Intercity. With its new partners Intercity will invest $3 billion within four years,” Önol said. The companies are due to hold a news conference to announce details of the project on Nov. 18. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 11th, 2008

The number of airline passengers in Turkey rose above 109 million in the first nine months of 2008, an increase of 6.4 percent over the same period last year, the State Airports Management General Directorate (DHMİ) announced yesterday.

Nearly 59 million people traveled by air in September, a 5.8 percent increase over the same month of 2007. Customers showed more interest in air travel due to the cutthroat competition in the domestic aviation market. Also, the total number of flights increased by 2.7 percent in September of this year over the same month in 2007. In the first nine months of 2008, Antalya Airport saw 29 million passengers, while İstanbul Atatürk Airport followed with 24 million. Adnan Menderes Airport in İzmir came in third, welcoming 8 million passengers, while Esenboğa Airport in Ankara hosted 7.6 million in the same period. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 11th, 2008

Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay expects that the annual number of tourists visiting Turkey will be more than 25 million this year.

“Despite all the setbacks that the Turkish tourism sector saw in 2008, the number of foreign visitors will pass a critical threshold, reaching over 25 million by the end of the year,” Günay stated at a press conference in London, where he participated in the World Tourism Fair. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 10th, 2008

Turkey is participating in the World Travel Market (WTM) 2008, which takes place at the ExCeL exhibition and conference center in London from Nov. 10-13, 2008, with over 48,000 exhibitors registered from over 200 countries.

“Nearly 40 Turkish tourism companies have applied to participate in the international tourism fair in the United Kingdom,” the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in a statement last week. The ministry will promote Turkey’s most popular tourism destinations at the fair, allocating a special place to İstanbul, which has been designated a European Capital of Culture for 2010. Turkey’s booth is located in the European section this year, numbered EM120 and located very close to gate N4.

The exhibit comes at a crucial moment not only for Turkey, but all other countries as well, due to the financial crisis impacting almost every economy in the world. While some businesses in Turkey that have debt in foreign currency are at risk due to the rising US dollar, the tourism industry is positioning itself to benefit from the exchange rate since payments are received in foreign currencies. The sector is valued at approximately $20 billion today. The Turkish lira has lost nearly 30 percent against average euro-dollar basket prices over the past month because of increased demand from foreign investors during the current global financial crisis. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 10th, 2008

While the global financial crisis and the rise of the value of the dollar are taking their toll on the non-financial economy, tourism — one of the cornerstones of the Turkish economy — had a productive season in 2008, attracting 21.5 million tourists in the first nine months of the year — a 13.3 percent increase over the same period of the previous year — according to data from the Security Directorate.

The directorate reported that the largest number of visitors to Turkey came from Germany, with 16 percent of the total between January and September. The Russian Federation and the United Kingdom followed Germany’s lead. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 5th, 2008

There may be a boom in Turkey’s 2009 summer tourism season, according to Adnan Güneş, contracts manager for Kuoni, the world-renowned Swedish tour operator.

While the economic crisis and the rise of the dollar are adversely affecting the real economy, this could be an opportunity for the tourism industry. Due to the greenback’s rise, Turkey is now cheaper for European tourists, said Güneş. Danish, Norwegian and Swedish tourists flocked to Antalya, Alanya, Kars, Marmaris and Çesme this past season, totaling 58,000 tourists, he said.

“The crisis is affecting every country. No one is traveling anymore. Tourism has all but stopped in the Canary Islands, Miami and ski resorts for the winter season.

If Turkey makes a smart move right now, and really sorts its tourism policy out, this crisis could work in its favor, said Güneş. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 5th, 2008

Sungate Port Royal, a luxurious hotel situated in the Mediterranean city of Antalya, is one of the world’s top 100 hotels, according to a rating by Russia’s most visited tourism Web site.

The “Top 100 Best Hotels of the World” ranking, announced annually by “Top Hotels”, or www.tophotels.ru, is based on price, quality balances and the Web site hits of the world’s 35,000 hotels as well as evaluations by hotel guests and agency employees. The hotels at the list are given a special certificate.

The ranking has an important role particularly for Russian tourists’ vacation preferences. The fact that 9 million tourists on average leave Russia for vacation each year, and that 3 million of them prefer Turkey conveys better the importance of the ranking. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 3rd, 2008

Turkey’s trade deficit shrank unexpectedly in September as a weaker Turkish lira, or YTL, helped boost exports to neighboring countries and reduce demand for imported goods.

The gap narrowed to $5 billion from $5.4 billion a year earlier, Turkish Statistical Institute, or TÜİK, in Ankara said on its Web site late Friday. The deficit, which narrowed for the first time since April 2007, was forecast at $5.8 billion, according to the median estimate of 12 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

“Our exports are growing and at the same time capital goods and consumption imports are losing momentum,” said Ozan Gazitürk, an economist at Şekerbank in Istanbul. “Turkish companies have less tendency to invest and buy imports.” (more…)