Antalya, Istanbul and Mugla are the favourite spots for tourists to visit and spend long holidays in according to official statistics revealed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism last week.
Oceanwide Properties Turkey has learned that a total of 28.5 million tourists visited the country from January to September this year – an increase of 10.9 per cent on the same period last year. Meanwhile for the month of September alone the number of foreign visitors had increased by 6.9 per cent, bringing the total to 4.27 million.
Turkey’s tourism figures have already grown in recent years and the latest seem to be securing its position as a favourite holiday option on a global level. It makes investing in property in Turkey a sensible move for thousands of UK and other European tourists who have already been making their mark in coastal resorts.
Germany is Turkey’s Most Prolific tourist Nationality
German visitors made up the majority of tourists to Turkey within the nine month period of January to September this year, with a total of 3.9 million choosing to spend lengthy holidays or a long weekend on its shores. Russian’s were the second largest nationality represented with slightly less visitors – 3.8 million. Meanwhile British visitors were third highest with 2.1 million tourists. In fact, European visitors actually totalled 79 per cent of all tourists (15 million from Europe and seven million from the former states of the Soviet Union).
Another Tourist Attraction Opens
Another attraction which is sure to bring millions more tourists to Turkey is the world’s first underwater rail link between two continents and which was officially opened at Istanbul earlier this week. The impressive feat – an eight mile railway line which majestically connects Asia and Europe and is named Marmaris – has been dreamed about for more than a century today’s proud Turkish leaders revealed.
“Today we are realising the dreams of 150 years ago, uniting the two continents and the people of these two continents,” Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said during the opening ceremony. He went on to refer to it as ‘the project of the century’ claiming that it fulfilled a long established “dream of our ancestors”. The ceremony was actually timed to coincide with the 90th anniversary of the Turkish Republic.
The rail line cost in the region of £1.72 billion with the majority of the funding coming from Japan (in the form of the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation). It sits 60 metres below sea level at the Bosporus Strait and is expected to run high speed trains in the coming years. At the moment it is geared towards the country’s commuters.
Meanwhile investing in Turkish Property will be made even more attractive over the next decade as the country spends more than $250 billion on a number of roads, energy initiatives and IT projects. As a result many individuals and families seeking a retirement or holiday property in Turkey are already snapping up bargains, particularly in the seaside resort areas.
If you’d like advice on moving to Turkey or buying a property for rental then please contact us here at Oceanwide Properties where we’d be only too happy to reveal the extent of our own research.
