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. 

Source

Turkey's tourism revenue surges 30.1 percent in Q2

Turkey's tourism revenue surged 30.1 percent year-on-year to reach $7.04 billion in the second quarter of 2018, Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) announced Tuesday.

TurkStat said 84.7 percent of tourism income, excluding mobile phone roaming and marina service expenditures, came from foreign tourists, while 15.3 percent was obtained from Turkish citizens residing abroad.

Turkey welcomed more than 11 million tourists in the second quarter of this year, an increase of 24.9 percent from the same quarter in 2017.

The report showed 89 percent of visitors were foreigners with 9.85 million persons, 11 percent of them were Turkish citizens resident abroad with 1.21 million persons, TurkStat said.

According to TurkStat, the number of Turkish citizens traveling abroad in the second quarter fell by 4.4 percent over the same period and reached almost 2.2 million.

The number of foreigners visiting Turkey rose by 28.5 percent, year-on-year, in June, reaching 5.1 million persons, the Culture and Tourism Ministry revealed Tuesday.

Russians made up almost 22 percent of foreign visitors, followed by Germans at around 10 percent, and British citizens at nearly 7 percent.

Number of foreigners visiting Turkey during January to June period climbed by 28.92 percent, compared to the same period last year, the data showed.

The total number of Turkish citizens resident abroad visiting the country also went up by 21.64 percent during the first six months, year-on-year.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said Turkey expected 40 million tourists by end of 2018.

"We expect $32 billion tourism revenue, and we are proceeding quickly toward this target," Erdogan added.

Mehmet Ersoy, minister of culture and tourism, also said nearly 16 million foreigners visited Turkey in the first six-month period of the current year.

While Turkey hosted 36.8 million foreigners in 2014 and 36.3 million in 2015, the figure decreased sharply to 25.3 million in 2016 but rose again to 32.4 million last year, according to TurkStat.

Turkey targets 50 million tourists and $50 billion in income by 2023, according to private sector representatives and officials.

The next quarterly data of TurkStat on tourism statistics is due on Oct.

Source

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


Source

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.

Source

tourist visa for turkey is easy in online

Turkey is a world of wonders which hided many beautiful places that which will be appears when the seasons change. Its December the winter is harsh to visit any country but the turkey hidden beauty will be appeared in the winter. Turkey is most frequently winter tourist visiting place in the world in the winter season. The business is very high due to people try to visit to maintain regular business deals in turkey. The most famous places and most business will be going on in Turkey. To visit such beautiful and busy country you required Turkey visa. Check our Turkey visa website to get business visa for turkey within fewer hours.To avail visa click the website turkish-visa.com

visa application for turkey

Turkey E-visa is a visa which is available online and is like having a Turkey Electronic Travel Authorization in order to enter into turkey. As this website turkish-visa.com makes the visa process easier for travelers who visit turkey exclusively for Tourism. As most tourists make last minute plans, applying for a general visa with the Embassy and waiting for a long period of time does not work well. Therefore, this electronic authorization is allowing many travelers to apply even just three days before their travel dates and still make it to turkey on the scheduled dates without any trouble. We suggest that all the travelers understand the requirements of this turkey e visa and then fill the application with easy steps so that there won’t be any denial at a later stage due to minor errors in the details entered in the application.

helpful tips to escape the tourist crowds in istanbul

e-visa for turkey

e-visa for turkey

Before trying to reach the place of Istanbul in turkey, travellers need to apply for turkey online visa and get the approved Turkish Visa delivered to them via email

With a population of more than 14 million, it’s no secret that Istanbul is a very crowded city. Traffic, overcrowded streets and public transportation are just some of the factors that make Istanbul appear quite chaotic. However, there are still some hidden corners where travelers can enjoy their solitude. Here are a few tips on how to avoid the major tourist crowds.

Explore on the weekdays and early in the morning

If it’s your first time in Istanbul and you just have to see all the major sights such as Hagia Sophia or the Topkapı Palace, try to go there as early as possible and on the weekdays in order to avoid the huge crowds that usually descend upon the touristic areas in the afternoon. Being there in the early hours will mean that you’ll avoid the international tourists who are still eating breakfast at their hotels, and if you avoid the weekends, then you won’t bump into the mass of domestic tourists who also come to visit Istanbul’s famous sights.

Wander around more remote neighborhoods


Sultanahmet may be where all the major sights lie; however, Istanbul has plenty of other neighborhoods with historical structures or the latest restaurants that are all not so well known. One of the best places to wander around pretty undisturbed is the Balat neighborhood, which, at best, only has a few wandering tourists shooting photos of the many beautiful Greek Orthodox homes as well as the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul and the gorgeous Balat High School. Other neighborhoods worth a look without the tourist crowds include Yeniköy, Teşvikiye, Moda, Akaretler, Arnavutköy, and Emirgan.

Discover alternative sights

Istanbul’s history is wide and varied, which means it has historic places around every corner. You don’t have to focus all of your attention on the significant landmarks because there’s plenty to see all over the city, especially in areas where you won’t likely come across a mass of tourists. From the former home of Leon Trotsky on Büyükada to the Pammakaristos Church, there’s plenty to explore on your own.

Check out the Asian side

A lot of tourists never explore the Asian side because they see it as mostly residential. However, that’s exactly why it’s a great place to avoid tourists while also exploring neighborhoods steeped in the lovely daily routines of locals. Get lost in the Moda neighborhood, which has a very young vibe with all of its newly opened cafés, restaurants, and shops. Take a ferry to Üsküdar and then take a bus up the coast (or walk by the Bosphorus) to explore the quiet and beautiful neighborhoods of Kuzguncuk, Çengelköy, and Kandilli.

Travel to the islands

A great tip for traveling to the islands is to avoid the weekend and to go very early if you don’t want to share the ferry with a hoard of people. Choose one of the lesser-known islands such as Heybeliada or Burgazada and just wander in the unharnessed natural landscape dotted with Ottoman-era mansions and the few newly opened cafés and restaurants. If you do decide to go to the popular Büyükada, then rent a bike and get away from the crowded town center to explore the island’s remote corners.

Avoid the peak season

Avoid the months between June and September to visit Istanbul; it’s the peak tourist season (especially July when tourists arrive in hoards). Avoiding Istanbul during the summer is also quite wise because temperatures can become unbearably high with very uncomfortable humidity. Enjoy Istanbul during the spring or fall when the weather is mild, and there is no one around.

Source

how to get an turkey e-visa online before you travel

The U.S. and Turkey have resumed normal visa processing services.

After a diplomatic conflict between the two countries resulted in each suspending visa services at embassies, relations have normalized. However, they have not been entirely smoothed out.

A statement released today from the U.S. Embassy in Turkey announced the return to regular operations.

“Since October, the Government of Turkey has adhered to the high-level assurances it provided to the United States that there are no additional local employees of our Mission in Turkey under investigation, that local staff of our Embassy and consulates will not be detained or arrested for performing their official duties–including communicating with Turkish officials also working in an official capacity–and that Turkish authorities will inform the U.S. government in advance if the Government of Turkey intends to detain or arrest any member of our local staff in the future.”

The statement continued:

"The Department of State is confident that the security posture has improved sufficiently to allow the full resumption of visa services in Turkey," the U.S. Embassy said.

Turkey was pleased by the announcement but hit back regarding the statement issued by the U.S., saying that it had provided no such assurances in relations to ongoing legal issues.

"We do not approve of the United States providing the Turkish and American public wrongful information," the embassy said.

 The U.S. remains concerned about the existing allegations against workers for the U.S. Mission in Turkey as well as allegations against U.S. citizens in the country, which sparked the crisis in October.

The U.S. continues to engage with Turkish officials in order to resolve these issues.

Turkey isn't the only place in which the U.S. has slashed visa services as a result of poor diplomatic relations.

The U.S. has had similar troubles in Russia and recently announced it would reduce operations in the country. U.S. Embassy staff and services have also been greatly reduced in Cuba following a number of reports of unexplained sonic attacks. 

Source