Turkish tourism seeks foreign investors to multiply rich potential

Türkiye’s tourism sector is expected to expand as declining interest rates may create new investment opportunities, Oya Narin, president of the Turkish Tourism Investors’ Association (TTYD), stated.

Narin, while attending the 27th East Mediterranean International Tourism and Travel Exhibition (EMITT) in Istanbul, stated that Türkiye had a good year in tourism in 2024.

“The world of tourism evolves to where big championships, like the Paris Olympics, are held, and despite Türkiye not holding such a high-profile event last year, we ranked 5th in tourist visits and seventh in tourism revenues,” she remarked.

Narin highlighted Türkiye has been doing well regarding tourist arrivals this year, but there is a need to make new plans to increase the revenue, and the association is working in accordance with its plan to contribute to shrinking the country’s current account deficit.

“We are waiting for the results of the new economic policies, as investing is not favorable in an environment with such high inflation and high interest rates, but as these gradually start falling, we expect a movement in investments after 2025 and 2026,” she noted.

‘Demand for Istanbul will never cease’

She mentioned that the current investment attraction is mostly from Saudi Arabia and Egypt, with some from Greece.

“Other countries have created attractive incentives and mechanisms to increase tourism, like us, and we are also working with such countries, and so long as this work continues, it will get somewhere. Though these countries are trying to catch up with us, we’re ahead enough not to worry about it. However, to hold our position, we need to make a plan until 2033 and 2050s,” she added.

Narin mentioned that Istanbul will continue its upward trend among other destinations worldwide, as the city offers great opportunities to both domestic and international investors, meaning that the demand for Istanbul will never cease.

Health tourism: ‘Türkiye’s shining star’

Firuz Baglikaya, chairman of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TURSAB), told Anadolu that health tourism has been a “shining star” for Türkiye in recent years, making a difference in average income per capita.

“Health tourism can almost double or even triple the tourism income,” he said. Baglikaya stated that TURSAB has over 1,000 health tourism agencies under their association, and they have so far organized 14 health tourism workshops.

“Health tourism has gained a serious edge because of our infrastructure and service quality, as Türkiye received around 1.5 million patients, generating an income of around $3 billion. We believe this can go up much higher in a short period of time—over 5 million patients and a revenue of $12 billion,” he added.