In early 2000, the direct contribution of tourism to Turkey’s GDP was 10.3 billion dollars. Ten years later, the same direct contribution reached 33.2 billion dollars (indirect contribution is 84.8 billion dollars). Moreover, almost two million jobs are related to tourism industry (i.e. 8.1% of total employment), while the level of investment in tourism in 2011 amounted to 14.3 billion dollars.
Reasons for growth
How did tourism in Turkey manage to grow all these years? There is a simple explanation: Turkey prepared a plan of facilities for investors in the industry to develop this part of the economy. And the result is shown in the above figures.
Antalya is one of the most preferred destination for summer vacation. People from all over Europe and other parts of the world come and enjoy their stay here. Turks have planned the development of this region, so that they were able to attract 31 million tourists annually compared to only 3 million 30 years ago. “Our plan was designed for long-term tourism growth. Antalya has come, now, to a point when it offers accommodation for about one million tourists,” said Mehmet Onkal Cha, representative for BDO Hospitality Consulting, the largest tourism consultancy in Turkey.
According to Cha, the facilities offered to investors in tourism over the past 10 years include: free land concession, exemption from VAT, special loans for those who wanted to invest in tourism, recovery of 30-40 cents of every dollar invested in tourism, the right to hire foreign staff, and, the most important measure that was taken to help the tourism industry in Turkey was the removal of bureaucracy.
“This was a real advantage because investors try to avoid walking from one counter to another. In principle, all is in one place,” said Mehmet Onkal Cha. “Over time, investors have also benefited from the facilities on communications. It was a long-term strategy, and Turkey has become a brand in the global tourism industry,” he concluded.
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