Its official Turkish Tourism is on the up as international visitors are attracted to the Turkish climate, lifestyle and quality holiday resorts. Overseas property professionals have also seen a rise in Turkish Property buyers seeking to secure a home of their own in Turkey.
The Turkish Statistical Board recently announced that 9.6 million tourists visited Turkey in the first half of 2007, bringing in $5.9 billion. That compares to 8.27 million visitors and $5.7 billion in the first half of 2006.
In July of 2007 there were an additional 3.6 million foreign visitors. That is over a 16% increase from July, 2006 when there were 3.1 million visitors. It is also the 8th straight month of tourism increases in Turkey, showing the increased strength and viability of the market.
Overseas property professional are also reporting an increase in activity from buyers searching for a Turkish property.
David Walker of Spot Blue Turkish Property specialists ‘With the prices for a two bed freehold apartment starting from £27,000, Turkey offers great value for money. The combination of low property prices, low cost of living and increasing demand is forcing property prices up and increases of 20 – 25% pa are not unusual.
Mr Walker explains “Following the increase in tourists we are seeing a substantial increase in the number of people enquiring and buying property in Turkey “especially from UK”.
Turkey has recently introduced mortgages for non resident, and this, together with the increasing number of low cost direct flights, continuing EU entry negotiations are all adding to the upward property price pressure. As in previous EU applications, this increase in demand is set to continue.
Germans are now the largest numbers of foreign visitors to Turkey, followed by Russia and then the UK. The Netherlands, France, Belgium, Austria, Iran, Bulgaria and Ukraine round out the top ten countries with tourists to Turkey, totalling 65% of all the visitors to the country.
Ahmet Barut, Chairman of the Turkish Hotels Federation (TUROFED), noted that the “number of tourists who came to Istanbul since the beginning of 2007, increased 30 percent over the same period of last year. Many Japanese, South Korean, Asian, Far Eastern and American tourists prefer Istanbul this year.”
Turkish Real Estate
