Turkey eyes 2 lakh Indians

Witnessing a steady growth in the number of arrivals from India, the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office aims to touch two lakh visitors by this year-end with the help of its India representative, Linkin Reps.

TT Bureau

With a clear focus on MiCE and wedding groups from India apart from the leisure travellers, the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office sees big potential in these two segments. It recently facilitated a large incentive group of 3,000 pax from India booked through Akquasun Group. Speaking about how the Turkish tourism ministry encourages large MiCE groups is H Deniz ERSÖZ, Culture & Tourism Counsellor, Turkish Culture and Tourism Office in India. He says, “If we have a large group of say 100 plus whether it is MiCE or leisure, we do offer facilities such as free entrance to historical monuments and easy visa process. We also help them organise events.”

We will conduct promotional activities for MiCE in Mumbai & Delhi soon as well as conduct special familiarisation trips

Ersoz, who has been in India only since early 2018, adds that his department is ready to collaborate with all big tour operators and DMCs in India for MiCE and weddings. “We will conduct promotional activities for MiCE in Mumbai and Delhi soon as well as conduct special familiarisation trips only for MiCE and event planners. Turkey has a lot of scope for MiCE – not Istanbul but other cities as well,” he says, adding, “The hotels in Turkey understand the requirements of Indian weddings and can meet their expectations. The awareness about Indian cuisine is also rising and we have Indian chefs coming to Turkey to train our chefs.”

Ersoz reveals that there are many Indian weddings taking place across Turkey such as Bordrum and Istanbul. “This year, we have about 13-14 Indian weddings taking place in Turkey. Next year, we will hopefully have about 50 weddings!” he says. The Turkish Culture and Tourism Office has recently appointed Linkin Reps as its PR and Media representative in India.

According to the latest statistics shared by Ersoz, the statistics from January to May 2018 has shown a 100 per cent growth. “We aim to touch two lakh visitors from India by end of 2018. In the next two to three years, hopefully with the expanding of air connectivity between India and Turkey, we will be able to reach one million Indian tourists by 2020-21,” he says.

Open to Events

• Open to any proposal from the trade, Turkey is ready to do joint marketing campaigns, joint activities such as roadshows and familiarisations for event planners. It is also ready to support and finance such activities