Turkish tourist numbers set to increase

Wednesday March 5th , 2008

Tourist officials in Turkey are expecting an increase in the annual number of visitors this year, a local media outlet has reported.

TurkishPress.com stated that the Association of Touristic Enterprises in Alanya is expecting the number of European holidaymakers to rise by 15 per cent.

Gulcin Guner, chairperson of the organisation, said the country was especially popular with Germans and that he was anticipating the arrival of more throughout the year.

However, he warned that Russian holidaymakers tend to book at the last minute, which means they may miss out getting highly sought-after accommodation.

This could be good news for owners of rental accommodation in places such as Alanya, as it means that property is in strong demand among tourists.

The investment potential of Turkey was highlighted earlier this week by UK-based newspaper the Independent.

According to the publication, house prices in the country went up by 20 per cent last year.