NEW YORK -- Turkish tourism officials may well be among the most
grateful that the 20th century has come to a close.
Without a doubt, 1999 will be a year to remember in the annals
of Turkish tourism, thanks to devastating earthquakes and war in
the neighboring Balkans.
"Turks are united in wanting to move ahead ... [and] bring back
normalcy to their lives and their country," said Selami
Karaibrahimgil, director of the Turkish Tourist Office here.
Tourism is part of the solution, and the director said he has his
sights set on restoring the U.S. travel market to Turkey, which had
been expanded rapidly in the post-Gulf War 1990s, growing from
182,429 visitors in 1992 to 439,885 in 1998.
After a 40% increase in U.S. tourism to Turkey between '92 and
'93, which Karaibrahimgil attributed to the ending of the Persian
Gulf War, momentum steadily rose, with successive yearly increases
of 6%, 7%, 12%, 18% and 21%.
Although U.S. tourism continued to climb through May 1999, it
dropped 10.7% in September, compared with the same period in 1998,
following the major August earthquake whose epicenter was 65 miles
southeast of Istanbul. The earthquake did not damage hotels or
tourism-related sites.
"Our task now is to recharge our tourism momentum and
reestablish the significant increases that we enjoyed for the five
years leading up to 1999," said Karaibrahimgil.
"We have new alliances that are very important to our tourism
growth," he said, "particularly working with Israel to develop
common programs focusing on the millennium and its potential for
increasing religious traffic. And our two countries have joined
together in our travel agent educational seminars."
Karaibrahimgil said he expects Turkish Airlines' new nonstop
service between Miami and Istanbul will be important for the growth
of this segment of the market, giving southern church groups a
convenient gateway from which to depart for Turkey.
He added that Turkey and Greece have improved relations
following the earthquake last summer.
Greece sent relief assistance to Turkey, and Turkey reciprocated
when Greece was hit by a quake in September.
New measures of cooperation in tourism development already are
occurring between the two countries, the director said, citing the
development of a music festival on Kardah Island, which lies in
Greek waters.
Karaibrahimgil noted several other recent Turkish tourism
initiatives, including a terminal that opened Jan. 3 at Istanbul
Airport, which has 30 boarding gates and is designed to handle 14
million passengers per year. A second expansion is planned, which
will increase annual capacity to 20 million passengers.
Another development cited by Karaibrahimgil was the
establishment of a luxury hotel infrastructure in Istanbul and
along the coasts of Antalya and the Aegean Sea.
One of the fastest-growing vacation spots is the port of Bodrum,
home to many new upscale small hotels as well as larger properties,
such as the 176-room Mercure Bodrum Merit and the 240-room Samara
Hotel.
Karaibrahimgil said he hopes that more upscale hotels, as well
as other improvements such as better roadways, will be introduced
in eastern Turkey.
The region's attractions include the Black Sea coast, Mount
Nemrut, Lake Van and historical towns.
In 2000, Karaibrahimgil said he expects Turkey to surpass record
1998 U.S. arrivals, with a projected 500,000 visitors.
Turkish Tourist Office
Phone: (212) 687-2194
Fax: (212) 599-7568
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.tourismturkey.org