House sales to foreigners up, halal business booming, Jet2 announce news routes and more seats to Turkey – get all the latest Turkey tourism news here with our weekly roundup…
Turkey to restore World Heritage Site in Diyarbakir (Anadolu Agency, November 27th, 2017)
Diyarbakir Metropolitan Municipality plans to restore the Diyarbakir Fortress and Hevsel Gardens in an attempt to promote tourism to the area. UNESCO officially listed both sites back in 2015 but as it stands they are overgrown and hard to explore. It is hoped that removing the overgrowth surrounding the sites and incorporating paths and viewing spots where tourists can take pictures of the walls and bastions, will attract visitors to the area.
Turkey’s Halal business boosts economy (Daily Sabah, November 26th, 2017)
We have reported many times on how Turkey’s halal business is booming. According to Thomson Reuters Foundation and the Daily Sabah yesterday, the entire industry is expected to be worth $3.7 Trillion by 2019. The sector, which covers food, travel, fashion and finance has over a 2 million global customer base. Turkey’s new halal accreditation agency was recently announced to qualify products and services aimed at the sector. Turkey’s Economy Minister is keen to profit from the rising interest in halal business in Turkey and there are a number of incentives in place to ensure the sector grows considerably over the next few years.
Turkish Prime Minister meets his British equivalent in London this week (Anadolu Agency, November, 26th, 2017)
Binali Yildirim travelled to the UK yesterday for a series of engagements over the next few days. During his visit, he will attend the opening of Dome Bank, Turkey’s first foreign investment bank opening in the city, alongside attending meetings with Theresa May and other important UK government officials and business CEOs. He is expected to strengthen ties with the UK and discuss post-Brexit opportunities.
Ancient mosaics found on the floor of Fatih Mosque expected to bring tourists to Trabzon. (Daily Sabah, November 26th, 2017)
Archeologists have discovered ancient mosaics dating back over 1,600 years on the floor of a mosque in Trabzon. The mosque was previously a church and it was only during renovation works that the scale and beauty of the mosaics were revealed. It has been announced that Fatih Mosque will open to visitors later this year as restoration work is taking place. It is hoped that the site will bring increased tourists to the area.
Direct flights announced from Belfast to Dalaman and Antalya (Daily Sabah, November 24th, 2017)
Great news for those from Northern Ireland as Jet2 announces their plans to operate direct flights from Belfast to Antalya and Dalaman next season. According to the Daily Sabah and Haberturk, Jet2 have announced that one flight a week will run from June next year to both destinations. This comes soon after they announced that they are increasing the number of seats to Turkey by 70,000, making a total capacity of 140,000 next year. Let’s pray this bodes well for all those involved in tourism next year.
Foreigners buying Turkish homes up 70.9% in October (Daily Sabah, November 23rd, 2017)
Great news for the real estate sector in Turkey as latest TurkStat figures show a 70.9% rise in foreign nationals buying Turkish homes in the country. October saw a total of 122,882 homes sold, foreigners accounting for 2,677 properties. Istanbul again attracted the most sales with 1,321, followed by Antalya and Bursa. Saudi’s bought up the most (528 properties), with Iraqi citizens coming in second with 278, Kuwaiti’s third with 154 purchases and Russians buying up 125.
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