Speaking to the Anatolia news agency yesterday, Turkish Tourism Business Council President Hüseyin Baraner stated that not only has the number of tourists coming into Turkey increased from 8 million nearly a decade ago to 27 million last year, but that this growth in the number of tourists also paved the way to growth in the property market for resorts and hotels.
Noting that the property market in the tourism sector has grown significantly, Baraner said the demand for purchasing hotels far surpasses the amount of hotels on sale, adding that many of Turkey’s touristic hotspots are being closely watched by many different groups. “In Turkey, if your hotel is good, you’ll make money, and Turkey has become a great place for the hotel industry. In 2010 we expect Turkey to be one of the most in demand countries for foreigners looking to purchase hotels.” He added that Europeans, Russians, Uzbekistanis, Kazakhstanis and Arabs are watching Turkey’s touristic property market to grab anything that looks promising. For foreigners who can see the potential of Turkey’s tourism industry, Turkey’s hotels look attractive and they want to purchase what they can, Baraner said.
Speaking on the performance of Turkey’s touristic province of Antalya, Baraner stated that Antalya’s revenue from tours far surpassed those of Europe and are currently keeping European tour operators on their feet. He noted that Antalya’s tourism industry sales are fueling the European tourism market, and that if sales continue like this, then Antalya will “in the truest sense open up to the world.”
“Antalya will become one of the most important tourism centers in the world. As Antalya’s touristic sales increase impressively, competitors to the city are seeing slowdowns at the same rate,” Baraner said, though stressing that there are still risks to the province’s growth in 2010. “2010 is the year where we will be extra careful and extra successful with respect to Antalya,” Baraner underlined.
