Oya Narin, President of the Turkish Tourism Investors Association (TTYD), stated that the share of tourism in the gross national product, which is currently 5.5%, can reach up to 7.5% and reach $135 billion. She stated that they foresee 800 million tourists to visit Turkiye by 2033.
Oya Narin, President of the Turkish Tourism Investors Association (TTYD), stated that Turkiye’s tourism revenues could reach up to $120 billion in previous programs, and that it will definitely reach $100 billion if left to its own normal momentum.
Narin said, “We have a tourism report that we published together with TUSIAD in 2020. We think that we can reach up to $135 billion if we transform the existing capacity with the Tourism Transformation move, renew it in line with the times, recover the education and destination areas of some, and pave the way for these tourism areas such as health tourism and third age tourism. This means 120 million people. Currently, our Ministry of Tourism’s goal is to see $100 billion in 2028. Next year and the year after that are important. According to the current Medium Term Plan, this figure is $90 billion for 2028.”
“We foresee 800 million tourists to visit Turkiye by 2033”
Oya Narin stated that the ministry has a broader perspective and emphasized that a new understanding of tourism is needed as we enter the second century.
Narin underlined that a new perspective is needed and said, “Maintaining the existing beds, renewing them, creating more added value, increasing the existing bed capacity of tourism is not the only issue; more added value should be created by transforming the existing beds and more income should be increased. In this case, up to $135 billion is a work product revealed by our econometric measurements. We worked on these models for two years. We just revised this. The share of tourism in the gross national product, which is currently 5.5%, can rise up to 7.5%. We can see $135 billion. We foresee 800 million tourists to visit Turkiye by 2033.”
Referring to Turkiye’s value-added transformation in terms of health tourism, Narin pointed out that Turkiye should further expand its work in this field.
Narin shared the information that currently half of the bed capacity is used for 180 days and the capacity utilization is around 40-50% and said:
“Therefore, if we can increase these 180 days to 210–250 days, we will have a very serious income from there. How will this happen? Sports tourism, cultural tourism, ‘Wellness’ is just health. We need to put this into ‘Wellness’. We need to support those 60 to 90 days with ‘well-being’ and ‘Wellnees’. Currently, what we see as health tourism, we actually see people coming for surgery and receiving treatment in health tourism. We also see geothermal and thermal facilities to some extent in this. But when we talk about health tourism in the coming period, ‘well-being’ tourism needs to be developed. This is a tremendous market. Therefore, when we move the business not only to the periphery of hospitals and hotels but also to the area of well-being, this tourism will move towards different routes and different areas. It will also develop the regions.
How are gastronomy routes made today? ‘Well-being’ routes also need to be built. This is a structure that integrates nature, hiking, spa and culture. This is how it is in the world. In hotels, hotels without SPA are no longer accepted. These need to be developed. In addition, we have a tremendous geothermal potential. If you look at the geothermal map of Turkiye, you can build geothermal facilities everywhere. Because it is possible for all the people around us to come here and benefit from the geothermal facilities, or rather the hot springs.”
“Turkiye has no problems in terms of promotion, first of all, our product is good”
TTYD President Narin also touched upon Turkiye’s tourism promotion and said that Turkiye has no problems in terms of promotion and that it is very good at promotion.
Narin said, “First of all, our product is good, our price is good. Here, the airports and airport operations at the destinations are very important. Antalya Airport had to grow, Izmir airport and Dalaman had to be used better. Therefore, the work actually starts with flight planning and scheduled flights. If you look at tourism in Spain, if 110 million people go there, half of them go there on their own, not through package tours. It goes over and over again. It goes with scheduled flights, like Ryan Air and Easy Jet. Surely they have a house and they, their relatives and their children use that house. Therefore, we always talked about this in our Tourism Transformation Plan.”
Expressing that it is very important to bring second homes to tourism, Narin noted that with the current bed capacity, what can be done in 180 days in each season is limited and the hotels are already full.
Oya Narin continued her speech as follows:
“Either you will build new hotels, which will still operate for 180 days and remain empty half the time. Or you will spread the season with ‘Well-being’, sports and culture packages. It is also important to bring the second tourism residences, which are idle and used for 1 month a year, into tourism. Perhaps there will be a movement here, too, with the Tourism Residences Law.
Because there was an uncontrolled order. Now it will be controlled, healthy, safe and taxing. Therefore, unfair competition will be eliminated. Because everyone was already renting their flat, but now if they want to rent, they will have a certain standard. But it will bring us this advantage; In their second homes, they have second homes on all the coastal beaches of Turkiye, from Iskenderun to Tekirdag, on the most valuable coastal beaches. By bringing these into tourism in some way, a new bed capacity will emerge and a long-stay bed capacity will emerge. This was happening again. But a better standard will begin to emerge. Because the homeowners there will also try to get a benefit from this. Bodrum is like that today. Everyone rents their house on their own.”
“A sustainable area needs to be created by increasing the number of employees in the sector.”
TTYD President Oya Narin stated that all world brands are now included in all-inclusive packages.
Narin said, “All brands in the world are involved in all-inclusive services. Because the family travels the most on package tours. The family unit in the world wants to know their budget. Because he wants to know his budget, he definitely prefers everything included. It will continue like this. Because having children is also encouraged in Europe. In fact, the number of children is increasing in countries like ours. Therefore, it is an all-inclusive system that is preferred.”
Narin pointed out the need to create a sustainable area by increasing the number of employees in the sector and continued as follows:
“When we talk about management at middle and upper levels, subjects such as business administration and economics come to the fore rather than hotel management. We need to open and encourage more certificate programs and two-year programs for middle and lower level staff. In the past, military service was a problem, now it has disappeared.
In this sense, we need to work a little more, but in terms of vocational high schools, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of National Education and the sector worked together. Many of the nearly 200 vocational high schools there were taken over by facilities and investors. That process continues. Interns graduating from those schools are guaranteed a job every summer. They are paid at least above the minimum wage, and the needs of the school are met. Managers working in hotels can go there and give lessons. You know, such a synergy was created. It is very useful because they all have a job guarantee.”
Source: Trthaber / Prepared by Irem Yildiz