The UK's largest airline, Easy jet is increasing the number of cheap flights it offers from London Gatwick to Turkey's most popular regions.

According to Spot Blue, Easyjet will be running 4 to Bodrum and 7 to Dalaman. This is part of a major expansion of Easyjet's Gatwick flights, which will involve the addition of a new plane at the airport bringing the total to 39. The new flights will be extremely beneficial to the property markets of Bodrum and Dalaman, and are testament to Turkey's massively rising popularity with British holidaymakers.

Julian Walker of spot blue stated that new flights are always advantageous to Turkish property market as Turkey's tourism was raising nearly 20-25% for the last few years, and 25% expected this year, because it is outside the Euro zone and its improving infrastructure. As Turkey's tourism capacity increases more flights will be needed to continue its growth.

According to the airlines Web site booking pages, it has never been cheaper to fly over for a few days and have a look around for the people contemplating buying property in Turkey. The prices become higher month by month and the new one-way fares to Bodrum-Milas airport are ranging from the lowest fare in April of 48.99 pounds for flights from Gatwick to Bodrum, up to 58.99 pounds. For the Bodrum to Gatwick journey the lowest fare for April was quoted at 23.99 pounds to 79 pounds in August.

With British holiday makers having access to short affordable flights, it makes holiday rentals in Bodrum and Dalaman even more appealing. More tourists mean more rental opportunities increasing rental yields and making property in Bodrum and Dalaman an even more attractive proposition to investors.

EasyJet spokesman Andrew McConnell comments: "We have been analyzing these new routes for a while and we see this is as a great opportunity. These new routes fit into our business model by continuing to connect major European cities."

Labels: Holiday-property, Travel

Turkey is gaining ground as a favorite holiday destination for Brits as the Euro is hitting the pound and British tourists spending power.

According to Co-op Travel, Turkey represents far greater value than Spain with superior value for money and a far higher standard of customer service. Turkey has attracted over a third more holiday makers this year compared to last year and has seen spectacular growth, according to ABTA. These figures echo tourism statistics from the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism which reported a 15 percent increase in tourist arrivals.

Trevor Davis, The Cooperative Travel Group's director of retail travel said packaged holiday sales for Turkey have increased by 30 percent. Mr. Davis also said sales to Majorca, Spain's top-selling holiday destination, have dropped by 13 percent. Ian Hailes, head of product and development for Cosmos, said packaged summer holiday sales for destinations in Turkey were up by a quarter while Spanish destinations were decreased by 6%.

For those tourists who have felt the pinch of a struggling economy, a Turkish vacation could prove to be more affordable for the 2009 vacation season. Turkey's history is steeped in various cultures, its ancient ruins, mountainous regions and forested areas make Turkey a great vacation destination for anyone of any age. The wonderful mix of cultures, cuisine and night life make it a wonderful place for young people, while the excursions and packaged tours of ancient sites available also make it a great vacation spot for history buffs.

Turkey makes two appearances on the top 10 list for European tourists for 2009. Dalaman tops the list as the number one packaged vacation spot. Following closely behind is Majorca, one of Spain's Balearic Islands. The third destination is the Greek island of Crete. Bodrum makes the list as the number four vacation destination for Europeans. The Turkish government has said it will get involved in an advertising campaign to boost tourism. There were 23 million visitors to Turkey in 2008 and authorities had predicted that would increase to 30 million in 2009.

This rise in tourist numbers also spells good news for the holiday home market. In western Turkey where a lot of towns rely on tourism for income, thousands of holiday homes are on the market. According to the Real Estate Counselors Federation, in Mugla's Fethiye district around 6,500 are owned by British people alone. Holiday home sales have soared over the past 3 years and Holiday homes prices have risen by 50 % in 2 years, but there is an overload of properties on the market, there is still a bargain to be had in Turkey.

Labels: Holiday-property, Tourism

The demand for quality rental accommodation in Turkey is increasing proportionately with the huge influx of Holidaymakers, it has been stated.

Nigel Harris, Chief executive at Artemis Travel said that the country used to be looked at as a cheap destination offering a cheaper alternative to the eurozone when it comes to holiday property for rent, but commented that this has now changed.

He commented: "Customers this year are looking for a combination of quality accommodation, flexibility on flights and duration and value for money."

Courtney Wylie of tourist property rental firm Holiday Rentals told the Daily Telegraph: "In high season, tourists can get a fantastic 2- bedroom villa with private pool near Fethiye or in Dalyan for around £600 per week." With the expected arrival of further low-cost flights to Turkey this year, the demand is expected to increase further as the flight and property rental option becomes more and more competitive next to the package holiday.

Turkey's tourist market was emerging long before its holiday home market, with in excess of 20 million tourists a year visiting the country. This is a key indicator for investment with a view to holiday rentals as it is backed up by booming tourism. For some time now, the Turkish rental market shows all the right indicators and now the facts are starting to speak for themselves as it provides investors with an opportunity to own a home that is rising in capital by around 15% per year in addition to offering superb rental opportunities.

In related news, recent survey from leading holiday rental site holidaylettings.co.uk shows Turkey is 7th out of 112 countries for demand for holiday homes.

Labels: Holiday-property, Rentals

Owners of rental accommodation in Turkey could be set to see a surge in demand over the next few months, according to an industry expert.

According to Giovanna Gentile, the PR executive of Atlas International said that the buy-to-let market in Turkey is currently very strong and the numbers of developers in Turkey are offering rental guarantees with the projects. She added that More than 26 million tourists visited Turkey in 2008. She cited the The Hurriyet Daily News reports which stated that the growth rate in the Mediterranean country was 13 per cent last year, compared with two per cent globally.

Ms Gentile highlighted the Bodrum peninsula, Altinkum and Didim as hotspots for British investors to look at. Antalya and Fethiye areas on the south Mediterranean coast are also recommended for "low cost of living and friendly locals". Since many Brits are feeling the effects of the credit crunch and rising living costs, they are increasingly opting to visit places which have the most favorable exchange rates. More and more consumers in the UK are booking trips to Turkey as it is considered to offer better value than other European countries.

With its consistently warm weather, fabulous beaches and increasing interest from European travelers looking to make the most of their currency, rental property owners who let out their residences to visitors will find that their services will be in much greater demand, leading to them receiving higher rental returns as a result, reports Property Wire.

Liam Bailey, global markets expert at Property Wire, commented: "Investors thinking of purchasing a rental property in Turkey may be able to look forward to healthy yields as booming tourism means the eight per cent average rental yield can easily be exceeded."

Labels: Holiday-property, Rentals

Turkey is becoming a very popular area for holiday home seekers and overseas property investments, Statistics from search engine giant Google have revealed.

Worldbulletin.net has reported that Turkey's official tourism portal is currently ranked as one of Google's most-visited websites, receiving a rating of 8 out of 10 in terms of importance and international popularity. A Turkish Tourism official explained that the website was designed to reach international markets and appeals to the various tastes and expectations of people from across the world. The website can be viewed in four languages, with English, French and German available in addition to Turkish.

The Turkish Daily News has reported that Ismet Yilmaz, undersecretary from the culture and tourism ministry, said the tourism industry is a vital part of the country's future. However, he added that further growth in the Turkish holiday industry could be achieved if efforts are made to broaden its appeal. Property author Dominic Whiting said the government is investing funds in tourism industry in order to make them more desirable and enhancing their appeal to prospective holidaymakers. This is also making it more attractive to foreign property buyers, as house prices are being pushed upwards.

In related news, Turkey attracted more than 23 million international tourists last year, reports TurkishPress.com, which makes it the ninth-most visited country in the world in 2007.

Labels: Holiday-property, Travel

Turkey's appealing religious attractions makes it a very popular hotspot for faith tourists, claimed one expert.

Judith Fein of the Dallas Morning News recently highlighted the divine attributes of Istanbul's Aya Sofya church (Church of the Holy Wisdom), which allegedly houses a splinter from Noah's Ark. The Aya Sofia was a cathedral until the Turkish conquest of Constaninople in 1453 when it was turned into a mosque. In 1935, Hagia Sophia is declared as a museum. Today, it is blend of both faiths.

According to the Irish Independent, Istanbul is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and a place which offers great Christmas festivities and more choice of getaways.

Ms Fein has recalled the treasured experiences she had in Harran; this village is mentioned in the Holy Books and it is one of the focal points of faith tourism in Turkey. The Prophet Abraham stayed in Harran when he was migrating from Sanliurfa towards the south. Furthermore, the foundations of the three religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam are laid in Harran.

St Paul Trail is a 500 kilometer way-marked footpath from Perge, to Yalvac, NE of Lake Egirdir. The hikers gets chance to enjoy the spectacular landscape, deep canyons, waterfalls, cedar forests and limestone peaks soaring to almost 3,000m along the trail.

Turkey has been described as 'holy land' like Israel and is a country shaped by the history of Islam, Judaism and Christianity

This comes after the Association of British Travel Agents reported the amount of bookings for holidays in Turkey has risen by 20 per cent in the last year. This should be good news for overseas property owners who depend on tourism to generate returns, such as owners of temporary lodgings.

Labels: Holiday-property, Tourism, Travel

Traditional tourist destinations in Turkey are attracting a growing number of Indian holidaymakers, it has been revealed.

Turkish tourist officials have outlined plans to tap into the lucrative Indian market and it wants to increase the number of Indian consumers who visit the country. Turkey has recently opened tourism offices in New Delhi in India, Islamabad in Pakistan, Sofia in Bulgaria, Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and Johannesburg in the Republic of South Africa. Turkish Ministry has a total of 40 tourism offices in 37 countries currently.

Express Travel World has reported that Turkey has just set up a culture and tourism office as a part of the Turkish Embassy in New Delhi in an effort to capitalise on the potential the market offers. Turkish officials predict that this will result in the annual number of visitors from India rising from 45,000 last year to 70,000 in 2008. The main objective of the culture and tourism office will be to work directly with the travel trade and the media outlets to promote Turkish culture and tourism from India. Necessary Steps are being taken to improve air links between the two nations, while more money is invested in promoting the country to Indian consumers.

N Sevgi Boz, head of the office has said that Turkey will provide some unique vacation experience as it offers a diverse range of attractions to foreign visitors. The NTO's initiatives in attracting Indian holidaymakers could be set to boost demand for rental accommodation in Turkey.

Labels: Holiday-property, Rentals

A growing number of holidaymakers in the UK are choosing to book trips to Turkey, according to The Co-operative Travel.

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) stated that while the mainstream holiday destinations such as Spain remain very popular, a growing number of people are looking for non-Eurozone countries as they offer favourable exchange rates. Turkey is benefiting from this trend, as bookings have gone up by 20 per cent this summer.

According to the Co-operative Travel report, Dalaman is the number one foreign holiday destination for Brits this summer along with Bodrum. In fact, the Turkish destinations came ahead of the Algarve and Cyprus in a list of this year's hotspots for British tourists. Tourism officials in Turkey have revealed that the sector has experienced growth and they expect to end this year with 27 million tourists. The visitor numbers in popular tourist spots like Antalya, Mugla, Izmir and Istanbul are nearly 20 per cent up on the same time last year.

Trevor Davis of The Co-operative Travel has said that this year the high euro and a shortage of availability as major tour operators are offering fewer services to Spanish destinations this summer which means that the normal late deals aren't available.

Meanwhile, Hurriyet has cited the data from the Turkish tourism ministry which has revealed that the country attracted 7.3 million visitors between January and May 2008.

Labels: Holiday-property, Travel

Turkey's tourist industry looks set to benefit from the poor weather in the Republic of Ireland as number of holiday bookings has increased this year.

Sunway Travel has revealed that increasing number of people from Ireland is looking to take holidays in the country this summer. The amount of bookings for trips to Turkey is about five per cent higher than at the same time last year.

Tanya Airey, managing director of the company, told the Sunday Business Post that this is mainly due to the warm climate of Turkey. The recent poor weather and memories of last summer's downpours has made many people chose to book last-minute holidays in order to escape from this year's poor weather. She further said that the various financial issues such as the rising cost of living are also failing to deter Irish consumers from taking a break overseas.

The weakness of the pound against the euro has made the financially-stretched Britons can still enjoy bargains and affordable prices in Turkey, as prices are much lower than those in places such as Spain and France.

The official figures from Turkish tourism ministry showed that between January and May 2008, the country attracted 7.3 million visitors which are 15 per cent higher than the amount recorded at the same point of 2007. The increase in the number of vacationers is likely to have positive impact on demand for temporary lodgings, allowing property investors to collect higher rental yields.

Labels: Holiday-property, Property-prices, Tourism

Hilton International, a leading hotel chain has plans to set up new outlets in Turkish provinces as they claim that Turkey has become one of the leading holiday destinations in the world.

Wolfgang Neumann, area president for Europe and Africa has commented that he is very much confident about the lucrative nature of Turkish tourism industry. He indicated that the hotel management plans to set up new outlets in the provinces of Kutayah, Bursa, Manisa and Diyarbakir over the next few years. Furthermore, they also suggest that owners of rental accommodation in these tourist hotspots are seeing lots of demand for their services.

Property expert Dominic Whiting has said that the government is investing funds into the main holiday hotspots in order to make them more attractive locations and enhancing their appeal to prospective holidaymakers. This makes it more favorable to foreign property purchasers, as house prices are spiraling upwards.

Mr. Whiting further predicted price rises of at least 15 per cent per annum over the next few years in Turkey and in some parts of the country; the price hike would be significantly higher.

A Place in the Sun magazine recently revealed that Turkey is currently the most popular emerging market among British property buyers and also rated ahead of Italy and Portugal.

Labels: Holiday-property, Tourism

According to the Turkish Hotels Federation, demand for rental accommodations in Turkey has gone up this year as more and more tourists are visiting Turkey. Owners of holiday accommodation in Turkey should benefit from higher occupancy rates and healthy rental yields.

John Bevan of Lastminute.com recently said that Turkey is now most popular tourist destination because it is so much cheaper than many Eurozone members. The pound has touched a record low against the euro and the Eurozone currency is now worth 80 pence. This means that pound will not buy as many euros, making things more expensive for the British tourists in European countries. Turkey is becoming an increasingly popular destination among British tourists. Guardian has reported recently that Turkey is a good destination for Britons who want to travel abroad with a more favourable exchange rate.

Thomas Cook recently revealed that British leisure travelers are increasingly opting to head outside of the Eurozone. The present exchange rate of the pound against the euro was cited as one of the main reasons for tourists to head for countries that are not in the currency, such as Turkey.

Ahmet Barut, chairman of Turkish Hotels Federation said in an interview to TurkishPress.com that a record number of people are likely to visit Turkey in 2008 and he predicted about 27 million holidaymakers will visit Turkey this year.

Labels: Holiday-property, Tourism

Cappadocia region is one of the most important tourism centers of Turkey visited every year by thousands of tourists coming from every part of the world. Cappadocia is situated in central Anatolia, nearly 200 kilometers southeast of Ankara. Cappadocia has exceptional rock formations and magnificent caves and it is the common name of the field covered by the provinces of Nigde, Aksaray, Nevsehir, Kayseri and Kirsehir in the Middle Anatolian region.


The first human settlements in the prehistoric periods built the underground cities in the volcanic rocks to defend themselves from the wild animals and they lived for long periods in these underground cities.

Ömer Tosun, antique and ancient rug expert, had the caves and prehistoric residential areas in Cappadocia’s Uçhisar district renovated and turned them into museum-hotels. The Museum-Hotel has a 30 room capacity. Each of the rooms is named according to the antiques inside rather than traditional room numbers. Tosun has stated that he knew the region and the texture of the historical structures well as he is the native of the region and so he was able to copy the originals without destroying its nature.

Tosun's museum-hotel is the first of its kind in Turkey and this unique concept which mixes his fervor for antiques and his entrepreneurial attitude. During the short period the Museum Hotel has been open for business it has attracted large number of tourists worldwide and has hosted celebrities like Henry Ford's daughter, Anne Ford and Hollywood star Harvey Keitel.

Labels: Holiday-property, Tourism

Paul Collins, the property editor of The Buy Association has said that Turkey is set to become the capital of new Holiday Property Investment in the New Year. He further said that property market may see radical changes and in 2008 it will see the surfacing of alternative developments different from the type of customary beach villas.

British tourists and investors are tempted by the turquoise coastline, water sports, water skiing and scuba diving that is on offer in many of Turkey's coastal towns. Many people who visit Turkey are impressed by the Mediterranean climate, hospitality and great value of the country that they turn from tourists to property investors.



Mr. Collins further said that the alternative developments instead of beach villas will gain momentum next year and chances of ski properties coming up within next 2 years add value to the already booming property market.

According to the statistics revealed by homefast says that even though the prices has gone up to 15 to 20 percent in the last year, turkey is becoming exciting destination for property buyers and already 17,000 British have property in Turkey.

Labels: Holiday-property, Turkish-property