News from Turkey

TUI Group acquires a resort on the Turkish Riviera from Summer 2020. Through the acquisition of the resort, the leading tourism group will complement the portfolio of its All Inclusive club brand.

Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) announced the increasing number of house sales to foreigners in Turkey in 2019.

Turkey’s digital airline Pegasus continues to expand its network with the launch of two new routes. Pegasus announced its fourth destination in Saudi Arabia and second in Georgia.

The number of travelers visiting Turkey’s Aegean city of Izmir increased 17 percent in 2019 compared to 2018 and break its all-time record.

SunExpress, a joint venture of Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, continue to connect Diyarbakır to Europe with direct scheduled flights to Düsseldorf and Hanover, starting in February.

SunExpress, a joint venture of Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, has increased the number of domestic and international flights from Ankara during the 2020 winter season, adding two new destinations to its Ankara-Europe flights: Amsterdam and Cologne.

Istanbul Airport launched a new service for travelers that want to get some rest at the airport whenever they want. IGA Sleepod provides travelers with a special private place to enjoy a good rest with its special prices, easy use, and easily accessible location at the calmest spots of the airport.

Turkish State Airports Authority (DHMI) announced aircraft, passenger and freight statistics for 2019. DHMI said that a total of 209,092,548 passengers are handled by airports in Turkey in 2019.

SunExpress, a joint venture of Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, has added the German city of Nuremberg to its flight network while offering an increase in capacity and frequency for flights to Izmir during the 2020 winter season. The airline will also begin flights from Izmir to Paris, Brussels, and Copenhagen in February.

The number of international departures from Turkey is expected to increase from 10.1 million in 2018 to 12.2 million by 2023, despite recent issues affecting the macro-economic climate.

Radisson Blu, the upper-upscale brand that delivers a positive and personalized service in stylish spaces, announced the opening of the Radisson Blu Hotel, Sakarya, in northwestern Turkey.

Several international and domestic flights from Istanbul's new airport were canceled and an airplane skidded off the runway at Istanbul’s second airport; Sabiha Gökçen.

Welcoming arrival passengers with pickup signs at Istanbul Airport is banned by the airport’s security commission. Turkish authorities set a €4 fee for Istanbul Airport’s “Meeting Lounge” service.

Catherine Zeta-Jones and husband Michael Douglas arrived in Istanbul on January 3 as they continued their intercontinental excursion in celebration of their 19-year wedding anniversary.