Turkish tourists 'stay in their own holiday homes'

Monday July 7th , 2008

Many incoming visitors to Turkey are staying in their own homes, a newspaper report has revealed.

UK-based publication the Times cited figures from the Turkish Tourist Board which showed that during the first quarter of the year, 3.7 million holidaymakers arrived in the country.

Statistics indicated that that 14 per cent of these people chose to lodge in properties which they personally own.

The newspaper added that other foreign leisure travellers are staying in similar houses which are being rented out by their owners.

Therefore, it has suggested that people who own a property in Turkey consider taking advantage of this trend by letting out their homes.

"A further 9.8 per cent stayed in rented accommodation," the Times said, "which suggests that there is some demand for good buy-to-let properties in certain areas."

The Turkish government recently revealed that it wants to attract more than 50 million visitors a year by 2023.

This will be more than double the amount of holidaymakers recorded last year and should be highly lucrative for the country's economy.