Indian Visitors To Turkey Grow 10 Per Cent In 2015

Indian visitors to Turkey increased about 10 cent to 130,000 in 2015 as the country continues to remain a popular destination for Indians.

Turkish tourism expects Indian arrivals to exceed 150,000 this year, said Ozgur Ayturk, coordinator at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's promotion division.

"We are getting more tourists from places like India, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. This year we are looking for 20 per cent more tourist from India," Ayturk told BW Businessworld.

The tourism ministry's promotion activities in India seek to attract those travelling for honeymoon, adventure and leisure.

Turkish Airlines, which has daily flights from Delhi and Mumbai, is seeking permission to have direct services between Turkey and at least six more Indian cities - Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Amritsar and Ahmedabad.

Antalya, Bodrum, Cappadocia, Istanbul, Izmir and Pamukkale are favourite destinations among Indian travellers.

Antalya, which hosted the summit of G20 leaders, is trying to capitalise on the greater awareness of the coastal region in India following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit in November.

Turkey was among the world's top performing tourism markets in 2015.

Foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) from 40 countries, including China, Iran and the United States, increased last year, but those from Russia declined amid political tensions with Moscow.

Growth in some markets has slowed but it has been compensated by a rise in arrivals from other places, Ayturk said.

"And it's not just about quantity, but also about quality. For example, the expenditure by Indian travellers in Turkey is higher than the average," he said.

Similarly, the average per capita Arab tourist spending in Turkey is five times that of a Russian visitor. This should offset any drop in revenues due to the fall in FTAs from Russia.

An Arab tourist spends $4,000 on average while a typical Russian traveller spends only $800 per trip, according to Turkey's West Mediterranean Development Agency.

The tourism sector contributed more than $35 billion to the economy last year and Turkey was ranked at number six globally in tourist arrivals, according to the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TURSAB).

Overall annual foreign tourist numbers were 36.2 million in 2015. German tourists were 5.6 million, followed by Russians and British at 3.6 million and 2.5 million respectively.