Tourism professional: “Saudi Arabia Cannot Compete with Turkey”
Oya Narin, President of the Turkey Tourism Investors Association (TTYD), made evaluations regarding the tourism agenda. She stated that they had successfully closed 2023, despite everything, and they expected 2024 to be a successful season.
Narin said, “In 2023, we achieved our goals to a large extent. We have revenue of $54 billion and hosted 56.7 million tourists. We closed 2023 as a successful year, and we also see 2024 as a successful year. Our ministry has set revenue and tourist targets. Our goal is in line with this. Although there is a decrease in Russia and Ukraine, the numbers will still be above our expectations. The European market also looks promising. Early booking flows are improving. Our domestic market is also strong. We expect a good year.”
Highlighting the importance of Antalya and Istanbul for Turkish tourism, Narin said, “In the coming years, we will see 30 million tourists in Istanbul. In Antalya, we also plan to see the figure of 20 million within a few years. These are not distant goals.”
Narin emphasized the need for Turkey to invest in the tourism sector, saying, “We aim to increase our revenue to $130 billion by 2033. Therefore, we need new plans to open the way for new investments. We need to increase tourism activity step by step in many regions of Anatolia, beyond the coastline. There are resources both globally and in Turkey to do these. Our modeling is very important. Of course, incentives and support are necessary to do all these.”
Regarding the possibility of the Arabian Peninsula, which has recently attracted attention with its investments in tourism, becoming a competitor to Turkey, Narin made the following assessment: “We can do tourism in our country for 365 days. We can experience all four seasons. Our human resources are very suitable for tourism. Our hospitality is known worldwide. Saudi Arabia, Dubai, and other destinations have significant opportunities and resources. But they have problems with human resources. They do not have a tourism ecosystem. Therefore, they can never fully compete with Turkey. They are not an alternative to us; they could be second.”
