Tag Archives: tURKEY

Turkish Airlines has launched new flights from various cities in the Middle East and Germany to key tourist destinations in Turkey. The national carrier will launch direct flights between Turkish cities such as Bodrum, Antalya and Trabzon and the Middle East, beginning from this month. The airlines will be providing a total of 16 weekly flights between Jeddah, Kuwait, Riyadh, Al Qassim, Yanbu, Medina and Trabzon. Furthermore, they will also be providing 13 weekly flights between Jeddah, Baghdad, Erbil, Riyadh, Amman, Kuwait, Sulaymaniyah and Antalya during this summer. Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Stuttgart are other cities benefitting from the new direct flights, connecting travellers from Germany to Izmir. Additionally, passengers from Kuwait will also be able to travel directly to Izmir. Commenting on these direct flights, Turkish Airlines’ Deputy Chairman and CEO, Bilal Ekşi, said, “We are always looking to provide our passengers with the most convenient and time-efficient way of travel. Tourists worldwide have been continously increasing due to the fantastic attractions and features provided by all our Turkish cities. As we move forward, our goal will be to create these direct flights from all the markets, we operate globally so that travellers can now fly directly to their destination of choice.”  

UAE residents and nationals travelling to Turkey in 2016 reached around 300,000 tourists, according to new figures released by the Turkish Consulate General Cultural and Information Office in Dubai. The figures show a 27 per cent increase in tourists travelling to Turkey from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries over the 2014-2016 time period. “This growth shows the Turkey is culturally and economically interesting for GCC travellers,” said Salih Ozer, Attaché of Culture and Information, Turkey to the UAE. “Over the past year, we have conducted many workshops and seminars for our GCC travel agents to get them better acquainted with what Turkey has to offer the GCC traveller.” Turkey has strengthened its position as a top holiday destination for GCC nationals and residents. From January to December 2016, a total of 822,849 holiday makers from the GCC visited Turkey’s many destinations. “We attach a great level of importance to these deepening relations between Turkey and the Gulf countries,” continued Ozer. “The UAE, in particular, continues to contribute heavily to Turkey’s tourist numbers, and we have taken many steps to simplify GCC tourist access to Turkey by facilitating visas for them in a quicker fashion.” Turkey is one of the top tourism destinations in the world based on the number of tourists and revenues. Whether its nature and the outdoors, history and archeology or beaches and relaxation, travelers from everywhere in the GCC can find their unique experience in Turkey. From Istanbul to Pamukkale, Cappadocia and Bursa in the west, Trabzon and Ayder on the shores of the Black Sea, to Antalya, Bodrum and Maramis to the south the country, Turkey’s unique offerings are unparalleled in the region. The Turkish …

Air Namibia (SW) and Turkish Airlines (TK) have signed a code-share agreement. Effective from March 1, the agreement will cover routes between Turkey and Namibia, and set to expand further travel opportunities for the passengers of the two airlines. The signing ceremony took place at Turkish Airlines’ Headquarters in İstanbul. Namibia Deputy Minister of Works & Transport Sankwasa James Sankwasa and Turkish Airlines Deputy Chairman and CEO, Bilal Ekşi signed the deal in the presence of senior officials from both sides. This new code-share agreement is bound to broaden the commercial partnership between two companies and their respective countries. At the same time, passengers of both airlines will be given more travel options between Namibia and Turkey. Under the terms of the agreement, Air Namibia and Turkish Airlines are planning to place codes on unilateral flights of SW on Windhoek – Johannesburg v.v. / Windhoek – Frankfurt v.v., and unilateral flights of TK on İstanbul – Johannesburg v.v. / İstanbul – Frankfurt v.v. Also it has been considered that, when SW introduces the Windhoek – İstanbul v.v. flights in future, this code-share agreement will be expanded by placing the code to include beyond İstanbul flights. Sankwasa expressed his satisfaction with this commercial partnership with a well-established and rapidly growing carrier like Turkish Airlines, which enjoys a broad route network. He also expressed that they are happy to conduct this code-share agreement with Turkish Airlines and also added that the deal will be a crucial experience for them. Sankwasa further stated that he is confident about this cooperation which will be fruitful for both sides and will be enlarged very soon. Sankwasa further stated “Air Namibia is a small airline and …

Turkey has ranked fourth in the list of top 20 destinations for Muslim travellers during the holy month, as per the Ramadan Travel Report 2016. According to the recently released Global Muslim Travel Index, Turkey comes third on a list of top five destinations for Muslim travellers.“The trend for Muslims to travel to the GCC during the fasting period has been growing over the last few years – these countries offer them Muslim-friendly services and facilities such as Halal food, prayer rooms and post-iftaar activities. Turkey not only offers all of these, but serves up a world-class tourist destination, with popular sights to visit and activities to be a part of,” says Salih Ozer, Attaché of Culture and Information from Turkey to the UAE, on the nation’s unwavering popularity as a Muslim tourist destination during Ramadan. Turkey featured in the list of top five destinations for Muslim travellers in 2015 as well. The Ramadan Travel Report 2016 also forecasts that GCC destinations will rise further in popularity by 2023, when Ramadan will fall during the cooler winter months. Ozer further adds that Turkey is preparing to accommodate this projected surge in tourist numbers.