Foreign Investor Guide
Reference: Presidency of the Republic of Turkey Investment office www.invest.gov.tr
TOURISM
6.
- Ranking of Turkey among the most preferred countries by tourists in the world in 2018.
46 million
- Number of foreign tourists arriving in Turkey in 2018.
463
- Number of blue flag beaches in Turkey.
18
- Number of golf courses in Belek, one of the most popular tourism centers in the world.
8.
- Turkey's ranking on Forbes Travel's list of the 10 most visited places in the world.
4.
- Ranking of Turkey in the list of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) most popular tourism destinations in Europe.
Turkey, the world's 6th most popular tourist destination and hosting more than 46 million tourists in 2018, continues to offer extensive investment opportunities in both the established and emerging subsectors of the tourism industry.
With its favorable location, current potential, mega projects and ambitious targets set for 2023, the tourism sector continues to grow at a rate that exceeds its bed capacity. Despite the remarkable increase in investments in the country in recent years, there are still great opportunities for new ventures. In addition to cultural tourism, Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia has an important potential to be evaluated in terms of the boutique hotel concept that overlaps with the characteristics, history and culture of the regions and is becoming more widespread.
- According to data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Turkey was the 6th most popular tourist destination in the world in 2018.
- According to the data of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the number of foreign visitors coming to Turkey in 2018 was 46 million, while the total revenue generated by the tourism industry in the same year was USD 29.5 billion.
- The growth in the Turkish tourism industry has been above the global average in recent years, and the direct contribution of the industry to closing the current account deficit was 52% in 2018.
- In the field of faith tourism, Turkey is one of the few countries where the holy places of various major religions are located. Of a total of 316 holy places, 167 belong to Islam, 129 to Christianity and 20 to Judaism.
- Considering the number of foreign visitors, Antalya is the most preferred city in Turkey. There are more than 500 4 and 5 star hotels in the center of Antalya, which was visited by 32% of foreign tourists visiting the country in 2018, and in the surrounding towns such as Kemer, Belek and Kaş.
- The number of hotel chains operating in Turkey is 57 and 44 of them are domestic and 15 are foreign. While the total number of hotels in these 57 chains in Turkey is 628, the total number of rooms is 149,601.
- With a 7,200 km long coastline, Turkey ranks 3rd in the world with 463 blue flag beaches.
- While Turkey is among the top seven countries in the world in terms of its geothermal tourism potential, it ranks first in Europe with 1,500 hot springs. The total bed capacity in various spa facilities reached 100,000.
- Belek region stands out as the most important golf center of Turkey. Belek is among the most popular tourism centers in the world with 18 golf courses, over 50.000 bed capacity and 2 million tourists.
- Istanbul ranked 8th in the list of 10 most visited cities in the world prepared by Forbes Travel based on 2018 tourism data.
- While the Turkish government offers incentives such as low service fees and low tax rates, it also pursues policies aimed at removing all kinds of bureaucratic obstacles that could slow the growth of the tourism sector.
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https://www.invest.gov.tr/tr/sectors/sayfalar/tourism.aspx