Faith Tourism enticing option for travel in Turkey

Various factors lead tourists to choose Turkey as holiday destination

İstanbul’s historic Topkapı Palace is among the most popular sites in the city visited by tourists.
Turkey appeals to the differing interests and expectations of tourists from many countries, with its sunny beaches, shopping opportunities, historic sites and delicious Turkish cuisine, data provided from Ministry of Culture and Tourism have shown.

According Ministry of Culture and Tourism General Directorate of Promotion data, the 23.341 million tourists who came to Turkey last year -- mostly from Germany, Russia and the UK -- had different reasons for choosing the country as their holiday destination.
While 4.148 million German tourists chose to spend their vacation in Turkey for its warm seas, sunny beaches, cuisine and entertainment, the 2.46 million Russians came for the low tour prices, water parks and discos.

The relatively warmer climate, cultural heritage and scenic beauty of Turkey were the primary factors of attraction for the 1.916 million English tourists in Turkey last year. As for the French, Turkey’s culture, faith-based tourism and city tours make the country an enticing vacation option.

According to data compiled by the Anatolian news agency, Turkey ranks fourth on German tourists’ list of holiday destinations, although Germans are the Turkish tourism industry’s leading target audience. Germans attach great importance to sparing time for vacations and generally prefer holiday villages in Turkey, which offer swimming in warm waters, Mediterranean cuisine, entertainment, SPA -- a kind of water treatment -- and shopping. Germans’ favorite holiday spot in Turkey is the southern coastal province of Antalya, which has been dubbed by some a “summer house” for Germans.

However infrastructural and environmental problems, maltreatment of animals and terror incidents are factors that deter would-be German visitors.

Sending nearly 29 million tourists abroad every year, Russia sends more tourists to Turkey than anywhere else, in contrast to Germany. Escaping their country’s cold climate to Turkey’s sun, sand and sea, Russians pay attention to tour package pricing, service quality, water park facilities, disco and recreational activities. Russian tourists, who generally prefer two or three-star hotels because of the cheap pricing, flock to Antalya, Marmaris, Bodrum, Kuşadası and İstanbul in the summer months.

Although the UK is always seen among the first three countries sending the most tourists to Turkey, Turkey takes its place at the end of the English holiday preference list. Usually traveling to Turkey on package tours, English tourists, who like resting on the beach, playing golf and activities such as yacht tours and diving, are attracted by Turkey’s warm climate and reasonable prices along with its historical and natural beauties. Mostly going for a vacation between July and September and Christmas and Easter, English tourists travel to the western coastal provinces of Muğla, İstanbul and Antalya.

Turkey is also among the holiday vacation preferences of French tourists. French tourists are also influenced by the sea, culture, faith and rural tourism opportunities Turkey offers. Bodrum, the Aegean coastal province of İzmir, Antalya, İstanbul and Cappadocia are the French favorites.

Another country from which Turkey receives a considerable number of tourists is Holland. The Dutch enjoy traveling to countries with sunny beaches, low prices and hot-blooded people; however, they seem to have been deterred recently by political developments and tick-bite cases in Turkey.

The US is still also a significant tourism market for Turkey with regard to its tourist profile, although arrivals from the US to Turkey remain around 600,000-700,000 because of the distance between the two nations. American tourists enjoy shopping, city tours, historical and cultural heritage and beach tourism, generally choosing to stay in traditionally restored mansions and five-star hotels. Americans interested in cruises and cultural, city and faith tourism travel to İstanbul, Cappadocia, Kuşadası and the ancient city of Ephesus.

As for other countries’ preferences: Italians come to Bodrum, Antalya and İstanbul; Spanish tourists travel to Cappadocia and İstanbul along with the Aegean and Mediterranean regions; North European countries prefer Turkey’s pristine coasts, Mediterranean sun and thermal baths; Iranian tourists are attracted by sea and faith tourism and shopping opportunities in Turkey, visiting the Central Anatolian province of Konya, where Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, lived, and the northwestern province of Bursa.