In Valencia, Spain, the 25th “FVW Travel Talk Congress” was organized, where over 300 sector experts, primarily from the German tourism industry, attended, and Turkey’s tourism was also discussed.
Hüseyin Baraner, the Secretary-General of the World Twin Cities Tourism Association, informed that Turkey’s tourism is now focusing on quality and service assurance in European markets, moving away from price-focused competition and starting to reap the benefits of this new approach.
Baraner emphasized that Turkey has left behind its image as a cheap country, as evidenced by the increase in average spending per tourist from 800 to 1200 dollars in the last five years. He stated, “With the increase in sales of Anatolian cultural tours and the new momentum in medical tourism, by 2030, the goal of 100 million tourists and 120 billion dollars in tourism revenue will be achieved. It was observed and supported at this meeting in Valencia that Turkey is now challenging its competitors in Europe with quality and high service, not with price, and has reached an unexpected customer volume in this regard.”
Baraner highlighted that Turkish tourism has become a game-changer in sales to tour operators and travel agencies in Europe. He noted that Turkey is beginning to see the fruits of changes in its tourism policies, and significant growth is expected in the 2024 season according to industry experts. Adnan Eken, the marketing director of the tour operator Schauinsland, also predicted a 15-20% increase in 2024 compared to this year, bringing 300,000 upper-class German tourists to Turkey this year.
Sören Hartman, the President of the German Tourism Industry Association, stated in his speech at the congress that prioritizing cultural tourism in Turkey’s tourism policies has provided great benefits and has become more attractive to affluent tourists when combined with high quality.
