With "Arab Spring" turmoil scaring visitors in the Mideast, Turkey is counting on its large coast, rich heritage to draw more visitors..
The summer tourist season is in full swing in Turkey and Erkan Zengin, a store manager for an upmarket Turkish jewelery company, has reason to be happy. "Our foreign customers are mostly from Saudi Arabia. They have good taste in jewelery and usually go for the big rocks." A similar scene is repeated at a nearby leather shoe and jacket store, where a clerk can barely keep up with high-spending customers from the Middle East. "They are not like Turks. They like a shoe, ask for their size, try it on, go to the cashier and pay. Turks want to try on 20 pairs of shoes before making up their mind," the clerk said. "Our favorite customers are Arabs because of their quick decisions and high purchasing power."
| "Arab oil trash with money burning holes in their pockets," is what he thought, but tactfully didn't say. "They'll buy anything expensive enough, and we'll relieve them of the burden. Mangy, overdressed Lions of the Desert, the lot of 'em!" |
Arab interest in Turkish culture -- from TV soap operas, pop music and food to Turkey's rehabilitation of its Ottoman history -- has helped bring an influx of Arab tourists. Istanbul, the old imperial capital, has become a popular wedding destination for Arabs. Escaping blistering desert summers, Arabs can also take advantage of a growing sector in Turkey that caters to devout wealthy Muslims -- hotels where men and women have separate swimming pools and beach areas and alcohol is not served.
| No doubt more Turks are taking advantage of such facilities, too, as they revert to the old ways. |
Data from the Ministry of Tourism showed the number of tourists visiting Turkey increased by 14.56 percent in the first five months of this year compared to January-May in 2010. While Germans, Russians and British tourists continue to top the list -- most of them lured to Turkey's cheaper all-inclusive packages -- high-spending tourists from Arab countries have experienced the biggest percentage jump. The numbers speak for themselves. In May, tourists from Yemen were up 87 percent from last year, while the rise in tourists from Saudi Arabia and Iraq was 79.3 percent and 45.84 respectively.
This is a welcome boost to Turkey's coffers, as the country struggles to plug a widening current account deficit. Tourism is a crucial foreign currency earner in Turkey and helps to offset the widening current account deficit, which rose 77 percent year on year to $7.68 billion. Turkey has sunk huge efforts into improving political and commercial ties with its neighbors in the Middle East, but "Arab Spring" unrest has cost Turkish entrepreneurs billions of dollars in Libya and has delayed infrastructure projects in neighboring Syria. But turmoil in Tunisia and Egypt has also forced many to rethink travel plans and Turkey is seen benefiting, as tourist destinations in unstable countries suffered a major hit. "Turkey is about to have a tremendous tourism season this year on the back of problems in MENA countries and new tourism investments in the country," Ozgur Altug, chief economist at Istanbul-partners BGC Partners, said. "End-May is the official start of the tourism season in Turkey and in July-August-September the amount of FX in Turkey will reach its peak due to rising tourism revenues." Turkey's tourism revenue exceeded $25 billion in 2010 and officials expect more cash for 2011. More than 30 million tourists are expected by the end of the year, up from 28.6 million last year.
But while more Arabs are coming to Turkey, the number of Israeli tourists visiting Turkey between January and May fell by 59 percent compared to the same period last year. Ties between the two once-close allies deteriorated sharply when Israeli commandos stormed a Turkish-backed flotilla bound for Gaza last year, killing nine Turkish activists.
| About as good an excuse as any, when Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan was looking for an excuse. Several months before that incident he'd screamed at Israeli President Peres that Jews are murderers in a public forum. |