The Turkish Tourism Dubai office is planning a ‘Cultural Nights of Istanbul’ festival in April. Another initiative is a shopping festival in Istanbul. EMIN KAYA, cultural and information attache from the Turkish Consulate spoke to TTN’s Cheryl Mandy.
What tourist arrival numbers has the country seen from the Middle East region in 2008?
The Dubai Cultural and Information Office is responsible for the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. Tourist arrivals from January 1 to November 30, 2008 were; for the UAE, 17.527 (an increase of 46.77 per cent), Bahrain 7,629 visitors (an increase of 42.78 per cent), Kuwait 20,690 (an increase of 68.54 per cent) and Qatar 4,561 (an increase of 25.44 per cent).
What are your targets for 2009?
The Dubai Cultural and Information Office is an official representative of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. As such, the main mission of the office is to apply the general strategic plan of the ministry which aims at improving cultural relations and promoting the country. New strategies include a “Cultural Nights of Istanbul” festival held in Dubai in April, while there will be a shopping festival in Istanbul between March 15 and April 15.
Regarding tourist arrival numbers, we are expecting the same rate of increase for 2009 which is roughly 45 per cent in the all countries we are responsible for.
What affect has the credit crisis had on the industry?
Our perception of the global crisis is that it won’t affect Turkey’s tourism industry – assumingly it will create new opportunities for this market. This is due to the fact that travellers will no longer choose expensive destinations and some will not travel to far off destinations nor stay away as much because of the crisis. So Turkey can be described as a value for money destination and will be giving more options for short term holidays.
What is your country’s biggest appeal for ME travellers?
The Middle East tourist profile is different to the European tourist. Their expectations and travel habits are quite different. For Middle eastern tourists, natural beauty, luxury hotels, shopping centres such as Grant Bazaar in Istanbul, and good foods are most popular.
What are your offerings for the travel trade in the ME region?
We attend the main tourism exhibitions in the region (ATM, BITE, KWE). We invite and offer space on our stand to travel agencies and tour operators, and offer fam trips.