Indian color fest to be held in Istanbul, Ankara

Holi, also known as the festival of colors, will be held in Ankara and Istanbul this year, Indian Ambassador to Turkey Sanjay Bhattacharyya has said.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) following an Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) event in Ankara, Bhattacharyya praised the bonds of brotherhood and friendship between Turkey and India.

"Holi, the festival of colors, marks the advent of spring and the Indian new year. It is a time for all Indians, irrespective of race, religion or language, to come together to celebrate through song and dance and merriment," Bhattacharyya said.

He said younger people have more fun during the festival but everyone is welcome to take part in this joyous event. "We are collaborating with a Turkish group to celebrate Holi in Istanbul and shall also have Holi in Ankara, but a few weeks later, when the sun is warmer," the ambassador said.

He added that cultural relations between Turkey and India have grown in recent years. "Today, we do business, travel to each other's countries, eat food together and share stories of our achievements. This strengthens our friendship. We even have weddings in Antalya or Goa, a mark of the close affinity that has grown between us," he said.

Bhattacharyya said the Indian Embassy is preparing to host a cultural festival named "India by the Bosphorus" in four different Turkish cities. "Featuring the diversity of our cultural forms, the festival will build new bridges to connect our peoples closer together. Like the festival of Holi, ‘India by the Bosphorus' will bring joy and happiness to all," he added.

The ICCR is an autonomous Indian organization that actively participates in the formulation and implementation of policies and programs pertaining to India's external relations, fostering and strengthening cultural relations and people, and developing relationships between nations.

It was found by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first education minister of independent India, in 1950.

The arrivals of Indian tourists in Turkey significantly increased in 2018, skyrocketing by 80 percent compared to the previous year, Bhattacharyya has said. According to the Culture and Tourism Ministry, around 147,127 Indian tourists visited Turkey last year, up from 86,996 in 2017 and 79,316 in 2016.

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Turkey's tourism income totals $29.5B in 2018

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA 

Turkey's tourism income totaled $29.5 billion in 2018, the country's statistical authority announced on Thursday. 

The annual tourism revenue surged 12.3 percent last year, up from $26.3 billion in the previous year, TurkStat reported.

"While 81.8 percent of this income [excluding GSM roaming and marina service expenditures] was obtained from foreign visitors, 18.2 percent was obtained from citizens resident abroad," TurkStat said.

"In this year, while individual expenditures constituted $22.5 billion of the total tourism income, $6.9 billion of tourism income was obtained by package tour expenditures," it said.

Turkey welcomed 45.6 million visitors in 2018, marking a 18.1 percent hike from the previous year -- 85.4 percent foreign and 14.6 percent representing Turkish citizens residing abroad.

According to the official data, average expenditure per capita was $647 in 2018, as foreigners spent $617 per capita and Turkish citizens spent $801 per capita.

TurkStat said visitors spent most for food and beverage in 2018 -- foreigners with around $4.38 billion and Turkish visitors with $1.55 billion.

Foreigners spent some $2.7 billion on clothes and shoes, and $966 million on souvenirs in addition to nearly $77 million on carpets and rugs. 

The primary visiting purpose of foreigners was "travel, entertainment, sports and cultural activities" with 60.5 percent, as their top accommodation choice was hotel/motel/pension with over 36 million overnights.

The primary travel reason of Turkish visitors residing abroad was “visiting relatives and friends” with 50.4 percent, while they mostly preferred private houses during their trips in Turkey with more than 17 million overnights.

Official figures also showed that the country's tourism expenditure -- which is the expenditure of the Turkish citizens resident in Turkey and visited abroad -- fell to some $4.9 billion last year, declining by 4.7 percent on a yearly basis.  

"In 2018, number of Turkish citizens visited abroad decreased by 5.7 percent compared to previous year and reached 8.38 million.

"Average expenditure was $584 per capita," the institute said.

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Tourists Flocking to Turkey as Turkish Lira Drops

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Boosting tourism: Turkey eyes Chennai, other metro cities

Chennai: Turkish Tourism, which has been participating in few important trade exhibitions since the last couple of years, has planned to rev up its tourism campaign in India targeting mainly the wedding and MICE segments. Turkey will come to woo Chennai and other important metros starting this month.
Turkey is home to the iconic Hagia Sophia, with its soaring dome and Christian mosaics, the massive 17th century Blue Mosque and the circa-1460 Topkap? Palace, former home of sultans are other attractions. Turkish Tourism hopes to have its share of the tourism pie as Indians from Chennai and other cities have been evincing interest in exploring new overseas destinations abroad, while also showing a tendency to loosen their purse strings while holidaying abroad.
Around 15 big Indian weddings have been confirmed in 2018. “Our focus is to showcase Turkey beyond Istanbul. The messaging would be to look beyond Istanbul,” Mr. H. Deniz Ersoz, Culture & Tourism Counsellor, Embassy of Republic of Turkey in India, said.
About 90 percent of the hotels on the Mediterranean coast work on all-inclusive packages. This is yet not known in the Indian market. Therefore, efforts would be to make this messaging spread across all trade hubs in India.
This month will see Turkish Tourism commence joint promotional campaigns with leading tour companies in the country, to tap the weddings market, corporates and MICE. The campaign will cover Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and few tier-II cities.
Foreign tourist arrivals in the first six months of 2018 increased by 30 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching around 16 million, as per official statistics. Tourism revenue in the first six months of this year rose from US$ 8.7 billion to US$ 11.4 billion.
India inbound to Turkey grew 100 percent between January and June this year, compared to the corresponding period last year. Turkey has targeted two lakh Indian visitors this year. The maximum number of Indian visitors to Turkey was in 2015 and it stood at 1.32 lakhs. Mr. Ersoz had meetings with Union Tourism Ministry officials in India, on reviving the mechanism to explore scope of mutual cooperation in tourism. Turkey is also exploring a JWG meeting in Istanbul in October- November this year.


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Turkey sees 25 percent rise in foreign visitors in first seven months of year: Tourism ministry

The number of foreigners visiting Turkey in the first seven months of 2018 increased by nearly 25 percent, compared to the same period last year, data from the Culture and Tourism Ministry showed on Aug. 29. 

More than 21.6 million foreign visitors arrived in Turkey from January to July, compared to 17.3 million in the first seven months of 2017, according to the ministry data.

Russians accounted for over 15 percent or 3.3 million visitors of total visitors in the first seven months of the year, followed by Germans with around 11 percent, or 2.3 million, and Iranians with 6 percent, or 1.3 million visitors. 

Iran was followed by Georgia and the United Kingdom. 

Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city by population and one of its top tourist draws, and the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya recorded the greatest number of foreign arrivals, 7.5 million and 6.7 million respectively. 

The month of July saw arrival of 5.7 million foreigners by an 11.7 percent year-on-year rise.

The number of foreign arrivals into Turkey regressed to 25.4 million in 2016 due to an escalation in security concerns and a diplomatic crisis with Russia. Last year, Turkey’s tourism sector witnessed a strong rebound as bilateral ties with Russia normalized and security worries eased, with 32.4 million foreigners visiting Turkey. 

A report from the Hotels Association of Turkey (TÜROB) showed that hotels enjoyed significant increases in occupancy rates in the first seven months of the year, driven by the rise in foreign arrivals. 

Hotel occupancy rates across Turkey rose 15.7 percent year-on-year to 64.8 percent and average daily revenue (ADR) rose to 69 euros by a 25.2 percent yearly increase in the mentioned period, according to STR Global data, which was announced by TÜROB on Aug. 29. 

Thus, Turkey reached the highest increase in terms of both hotel occupancy rates and ADR among all European destinations in the January-July period, TÜROB said. 

Hotel occupancy rates saw a 7.1 percent yearly increase and hit 74.9 percent in July, with ADR increasing to 87.8 euros by a nearly 12 percent yearly increase, STR Global data also showed. 

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100-day plan to supercharge Turkish tourism: Official

100-day action plan to be start of Turkish tourism sector's transformation, says association of travel agencies chair

ISTANBUL:

Projects in the government’s 100-day action plan to supercharge Turkey’s tourism sector will make the world sit up and see Turkey as a major destination, a top tourism official told Anadolu Agency on Monday. 

"These kinds of projects with cultural and art activities will bring Turkey to the global stage and make it a new destination for tourists with large disposable income," said Firuz Baglikaya, head of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TURSAB). 

The 100-day plan, unveiled last week by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will be the start of the Turkish tourism sector's transformation, he added. 

Projects to boost Turkey’s tourist draw are a major part of the action plan. 

The plan includes projects to attract more Chinese tourists, improved travel infrastructure investments, and opening Gobeklitepe, the world's oldest temple, in Turkey’s southeast, to visitors.

Baglikaya said flight service to Far Eastern countries such as China and India will be expanded once Istanbul’s new airport opens this fall. 

"We aim to attract more high-income tourists from China and India," he said. 

Mentioning how China declared 2018 the Year of Turkish Tourism, Baglikaya said the number of Chinese tourists visiting Turkey jumped 93 percent in the first half of this year. 

"We will close the year with a record high number of Chinese tourists," he said. 

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Luxury facilities, seasonal advantages boost Turkey's future in sports tourism

Turkey is eyeing a bigger share in sports tourism with the addition of athlete-friendly luxury facilities with this tourism branch growing across the globe. While the interest of countries in many sports such as football, basketball, golf and tennis vary by their potential, billions of dollars are spent in the sector every year worldwide. The volume of sports tourism in the world has reached $200 billion, according to Sports Tourism Association Chairman Recep Şamil Yaşacan, who said Turkey has received only a small piece of the $1 billion pie. Turkey has seen an increase in occupancy rates, not only due to a recovery in the number of incoming visitors, but also thanks to the various sports events it has hosted in recent years. 

For instance, with international professional tennis tournaments organized in the country's holiday resort Antalya over the last 10 years, the city is now preferred by some 20,000 professionals each year as well as senior tennis players, boosting the region's foreign exchange influx, according to Turkey Tennis Federation Chairman Cengiz Durmuş, who said around 40,000 athletes, mostly tennis players, visit the city annually. 

Often called Turkey's tourism capital, Antalya has become a center for international sports clubs in the last five years thanks to investments made in new facilities and infrastructure, and continues to receive reservations, though it is aiming for a bigger slice of the sports tourism pie, according to Antalya Governor Münir Karaloğlu. 

Due to the favorable climatic conditions, infrastructure and location, Antalya is the most preferred destination among clubs. 

Sports tourism is a very important sector for Antalya, according to the city's governor. "Antalya attracts a big share, especially during the clubs' winter camps. There was a bit of hesitance last year, but this year many teams from the Middle East, Russia and Europe will hold their camps in Antalya. There have been a substantial amount of reservations already. This means that the winter months will be better than last year. However, Antalya has to attract a bigger share of sports tourism. We have opportunities; we have facilities; our hotels are high quality; we have football fields and tennis courts as well as golf courses. The golf courses in Antalya are world class. The Turkish Airlines Open tournament ended last week. We organized the Antalya Open for the first time last year and this year, we will organize the second," Karaloğlu explained. 

Contrary to the widespread idea that football ranks first in sports tourism, Yaşacan noted that it actually ranks second after golf. 

He also emphasized tourists coming for sports tourism spend much more than other tourists. "Tourists coming for holidays spend around $500-$600 during their stay in the country, while sports tourists spend around $2,000." 

FACILITIES WELL EQUIPPED 

TO HOST BIG EVENTS 

When asked whether Turkey is on the route of foreign sports teams, Yaşacan said: "Of course it is. The highest demand comes from the Commonwealth of Independent States [Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan], the second highest comes from the Balkan countries, and the third comes from Central and Northern European countries." 

He remarked that compared to 2017, a 30 percent increase is expected this year in sports tourism. "Sports tourism in 2017 was $600 million. As for this year, it is expected to be around $1 billion. We hope to approach the figures of 2015, which was the best year." 

Speaking of the deficiencies in sports tourism, Yaşacan said there was a need for bigger government support and that further investments should be made in new facilities. 

When asked whether Turkey has a sufficient infrastructure to handle big organizations such as the World Cup, Yaşacan said: "The infrastructure for any sports event is basically ready in terms of climate, facility, accommodation and logistics. Investments would need to be made to support some places where there is a lack of facilities." 

On the other hand, Durmuş said he does not think Turkey lacks facilities. 

"I think we should do something about the sense of perception. It's necessary to explain that Antalya is the city with the best climate, location and numerous courts. Promotion should be made in this direction. It may also contribute to the promotion of our country by bringing world-renowned athletes such as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to the ATP 250 Antalya Open Tournament. Encouraging four or five year-round international tennis academies to open branches in Antalya and bring sports and tennis players from all over the world for both sports and education will make our country a sports center. New courts should be built and the quality of the existing courts should be increased," Durmuş explained. 

TENNIS COULD BRING IN 

$1.2 BILLION ANNUALLY 

Hotels in Antalya have made massive investments to promote sports tourism, according to Durmuş, who also noted the world-class golf and football fields. 

"The turf tennis courts made for the ATP 250 Turkish Airlines Open are some of the best turf

Tennis courts in the world, despite being a first for our country. Apart from this, the Istanbul Cup and the Istanbul Open tournaments have made very significant contributions to the promotion of Istanbul. In particular, the year when Federer came and the year when Turkish national tennis player Çağla Büyükakçay won the championship were unforgettable years for us," he said. 

He also explained that 100 international tournaments are held in Antalya each year, indicating that Turkey is one of the countries that organizes the highest number of professional tournaments. 

"Antalya is the city with highest number of courts in the world. There are nearly 2,000 tennis courts in the city," Durmuş added. 

When you consider the fact that tennis can be played at least 40 weeks out of the year in Antalya thanks to the region's mild climate, there could be 1.2 million tennis customers annually, according to the Turkey Tennis Federation chairman, who also pointed out that tennis-related visitors generally spend more; so, 1.2 million people would average $1,000 per week in spending, including their plane tickets. 

"By just creating a good tennis city, an average of $1.2 billion in sports tourism could be provided from tennis tourism," Durmuş noted. 

The contribution of sports tourism is much higher than the financial contribution for Turkey's promotion to the world, according to the Sports Tourism Association chairman 

"The athletes' social media sharing and teams coming in during the early booking period have made big contributions to the promotion. In winter, indoor facilities in the Antalya region are kept open for sports camps. Tournaments in Antalya are broadcast live around the world. The mountains available for skiing in the summer season enables accommodation facilities to stay open for business the entire year. This means 12 months of employment. As a result, sports tourism raises the brand value of our country." 

He stressed that incoming foreign teams from every category play friendly matches with professional and amateur teams in the country, adding that these matches also make contributions to the Turkish teams, who have an opportunity to analyze the tactics and strategies of the incoming teams and to see their own strengths. 

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The 6th Interdisciplinary Tourism Research Conference to be held in Cappadocia, Turkey

Organised by the journal ANATOLIA, the 6th Interdisciplinary Tourism Research Conference will take place 2 - 7 October 2018 in Cappadocia, Turkey. 

The conference aims particularly to emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of tourism, hospitality and leisure research and attracts submissions in two categories: First, it encourages those faculty members and/or graduate students studying in other fields, but have research interests on tourism. Second, for those contributors with a background in tourism, the paper should be written by at least two multiple authors and each author represents a different discipline.

Invited speakers 

The list of our guest speakers is diverse in their affiliations, gender, and fields of expertise:

• Tej Vir Singh, Centre for Tourism Research & Development, India 
• Haiyan Song, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, SAR China
• Marion Joppe, University of Guelph, Canada
• Chris Cooper, Leeds Beckett University, UK

Tej Vir Singh Recognition Award 

This year’s award is dedicated to Professor Tej Vir Singh of the Centre for Tourism Research & Development, India, in recognition of his lifelong contribution and social role played to the institutionalisation of tourism studies, both nationally and internationally, from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Pre-conference seminars: 

• Antonia Correia – University of Algarve & Universidade Europeia, Portugal
• Maheshvari Naidu – University of KwaZulu–Natal, South Africa
• Ana Isabel Rodrigues – Polytechnic Institute of Beja, Portugal
• Husseini Olya – Oxford Brookes University, UK 

For more information about the conference, visit anatoliajournal.com/interdisciplinary


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Incirliin Cave proving popular among tourists in southwestern Turkey

The ancient Incirliin Cave located in southwestern Turkey's Muğla province continues to be a popular attraction for tourists.

The 345-meter-long cave, which is located in Milas district's Gökçeler Canyon and estimated to be around 8,000 years old, has been declared both a first degree archeological and natural site by Muğla's Cultural and Natural Heritage Preservation Board.

Upon entering the cave, visitors are greeted by huge stalactites and stalagmites and enjoy cooler temperatures, which can reach as low as 17 degrees Celsius even on the hottest days. The cooler temperatures also make the cave a perfect habitat that bat colony said to have made its home there.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), District Governor of Milas Eren Arslan said the cave was first opened to visitors after lightening equipment and walkways were installed in 2016 to ensure visitors' safety.

Remarking that the region's beaches also make it a popular tourist destination, Arslan said both the cave and the canyon have a very different sort of tourism potential. The canyon is home to vibrant wildlife and various types of trees and other flora. Confident in the area's potential, Arslan said the spot is sure to grow with tourism businesses.

"Every year we get 20,000 local and foreign tourists. So far 7,000 tourists have visited in 2018. This number is increasing every year," he said.

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Turkey has a new government system and a new Tourism Minister

Turkey has officially switched to an executive presidency after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan took the oath of office yesterday and announced the first cabinet under new presidential system.

Founder of Etstur Mehmet Ersoy becomes the new Tourism Minister of Turkey.

Born in Istanbul in 1968, Mehmet Ersoy, graduated from Istanbul German High School in 1987 and then moved to the business world by establishing Etstur in 1991 with Murat Ersoy, his twin brother. Starting their tour operator business from scratch, Mehmet Ersoy and his brother Murat Ersoy succeeded in taking Etstur to top in a short period while continuing to grow in the hotel management and tourism industries. Etsgroup operates a total of 13 five-star hotels with 12,000-bed capacity including a hotel chain of seven Voyage hotels, two Maxx Royal Resorts hotels in Bodrum and Antalya as well as Elexus Hotels & Resorts & Spa in Kemer and TRNC.

Etstur also hosts many brands under its roof; Didimtur; a travel agency serving for large masses, Jetset; a boutique travel agency preparing personal and luxury travel programs, Ucuzabilet.com; a web site selling affordable domestic and international flight tickets, Otelpuan.com, a web site featuring objective reviews of the guests about the properties, etstur.com/letsgo, online journal of Etstur covering articles and posts on travel trends and culture, Etsmice, a brand providing corporate traveling services, events, fairs etc.

In 2004, Etsgroup acquired 50 percent of the shares of Atlasjet, founded by Öger Holding, stepping into the aviation industry and it purchased all the shares of the airline in February 2006. Reaching a significant a position in the private airline business in a short period thanks to service-oriented rather than cost-based business mentality, the company moves forward under the name Atlasglobal due to an overhaul of its corporate identity in 2015.

Turkey’s new presidential governmental system has abolished the Prime Ministry and transferred all executive authority of the Prime Ministry office to the president, who will have sweeping powers, from appointing state officials to declaring state of emergency by presidential decrees, lacking considerable monitoring by parliament.

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Turkey elections: the latest updates

Turkish citizens heads to the polls on June 24 to elect the president and members of parliament. A new system for Turkish politics, an executive presidency, will also come into effect with #TurkeyElections.

Speaking to a Turkish TV channel at Istanbul’s new airport, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the number of ministries would be reduced to 16 under new presidential system after June 24.

“We will reduce the number of ministries to 16 under the presidential system,” he said.

Currently, Turkey has 21 ministries.

Under the proposed changes, the ministry for foreign affairs and ministry for European Union affairs would be merged. And the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs would be under the ministry of agriculture.

“Economic administration will be simplified,” said Erdogan.

“We will reduce the number of related ministries, which is six now, to three.”

The main opposition party’s presidential candidate Muharrem Ince held a big rally in the coastal province of Izmir on Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people attended the rally in the secularist Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) stronghold.

Ince said he would remove the state of emergency and send four million Syrians back to their country with a farewell ceremony, if he won the upcoming election.

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