Deputy general manager of the Interbank Card Centre, Cenk Temiz, revealed that there are 214 million banking cards in circulation in Turkey, putting Turkey ahead of any other European country. Speaking with Anadolu Agency, Temiz stated that data shows that at the end of 2018 there were 148 million debit and 66 million credit cards in Turkey.
With 15 Istanbul-bound flights leaving London each day, it's never been easier to get to Turkey. And the ease of travelling between the UK and Istanbul, Bodrum, Antalya and Fethiye has added to a recent spike in the number of British people interested in owning or investing in a Turkish property.
Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, the Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister has announced that a new train is set to be introduced to accommodate the increasing number of tourists wanting to visit Eastern Turkey, easing the load of increasing demand on the current Eastern Express. The Eastern Express currently leaves from Ankara and travels towards the eastern city of Kars in Turkey.
It's a couple of months late, but finally, a move is underway. In early April, Ataturk Airport will shift its operations to the brand new Istanbul Airport. Over the next couple of years as it ramps up its operations, the mammoth airport is set to become the busiest in the world.
Cappadocia has seen the highest number of tourists in 10 years with 123,244 foreign and local visitors in January. Due to this immense activity the tourism sectors have high hopes for the rest of the year. Professionals in the tourist industry in Cappadocia are expecting the region to enjoy its busiest year ever.
Last year Turkey recorded its best tourist results ever, more surprisingly though are the figures reported by Antalya for January. Over 142,000 tourists travelled to the city which is an increase of nearly 54% when compared to the same time last year. These figures are a fantastic way to start Turkey’s aim to encourage tourism all year round.
As one of the leading holiday destinations in the world, Turkey has found that it needs to keep busy to ensure that the country can keep increasing the tourist potential. The city Antalya has been particularly in demand in terms of visitors and these people are coming not just from the Middle East but also from Germany, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia.
With a 27 percent increase on the number of visitors coming to Turkey for health reasons last year, the medical tourism sector has reason to celebrate. Medical tourism is set to grow this year, with officials aiming for a tenfold increase in the number of Russian health tourists visiting the country.
Results have recently been announced by the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, confirming that over 13.4 million foreign tourists visited Istanbul in 2018. According to the information that was gathered from the report it showed that there was an increase of 24% when comparing foreign visitors in 2017 and 2018.
February 8th marked the opening of the three day “My Home Investment and Retail Fair” in Dusseldorf, Germany. The event had the full support of the Turkish Urbanisation and Environment Ministry and proved to be a huge success with a record-breaking number of total people attending to learn more about real estate and new projects in Turkey.
Twenty years ago, the rare and valuable Kocatas Mansion in Istanbul was subjected to a disastrous fire but finally it has been restored to its former glory. Situated on the waterfront in the Sariyer district of Istanbul, the mansion was bought by Qatari businessman Omar Hussain Alfardan, who has spent 200 million USD renovating the mansion.
Before the last elections, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan introduced a load of stimulus measures aimed at placating voters. This time round, ahead of March's local body elections, there's little available to help woo voters. Which means the long-time leader is going to have to get smart, working with what he has to court much-needed votes.
