Turkish delights

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The Bosphorus is one of Istanbul’s highlights.

With Turkey's size comes huge diversity, but visitors must beware of biting off more than they can chew says Selina Denman.

Turkey has spent centuries welcoming - and wowing - foreign visitors. "If the earth was a single state, Istanbul would be its capital," Napoleon Bonaparte once said. For Anthony and Cleopatra, Turkey's southern coastline was the destination of choice.

Hundreds of years on and these destinations still appeal. Istanbul's continued popularity is not difficult to comprehend - a wealth of World Heritage Sites point to a colourful and controversial past, but it is also a modern and cosmopolitan commercial hub.

"It is the only city in the world to bridge two continents," notes Frank Reichenbach, regional manager for Turkey at Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts. "It is an inspiring place to visit and in which to do business; a place alive with opportunity and endless activity and entertainment," he adds.

Second time round

A mark of Istanbul's maturity is the number of international hotel chains currently planning a second or third property in the city.

Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts is kicking off this trend with the opening of its second - Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at the Bosphorus - this month.

Worldhotels will establish a third presence in the city with the April 2009 opening of Point Hotel Barbaros.

"Turkey's cultural and financial centre is a highly attractive destination for both leisure and business travellers and is therefore a great strategic location for a Worldhotels property," explains Ingo Gürges, senior director business development and relations at Worldhotels.

"In addition, it perfectly complements our portfolio in Istanbul as we already have two First Class Collection properties in the city - the Nippon Hotel and Point Hotel."

Another notable trend is the number of international chains bringing in their niche brands. Starwood unveiled the 134-unit W Istanbul last month, while Hyatt will launch its Park Hyatt Istanbul - Maçka Palas on September 1.

"As one of the most important tourism spots in Turkey and one of the world's major conference destinations, there is increasing demand for Istanbul from every market segment," says director of sales and marketing for the new property, Figen Çağlar.

"The US, UK and Europe are among the leading markets, followed by the Middle East and CIS countries." He cites similarities in culture and cuisine as a primary draws for Middle Eastern travellers.

The region also benefits from strong air links with Turkey.Turkish Airlines operates an extensive and rapidly-expanding Middle East network, says Ali Genc, spokesperson for the airline.

"We launched flights to Aleppo on May 15 and flights between Ankara and Tehran on May 25. We increased frequencies on flights to Amman, Damascus, Dubai, Bahrain and Doha with the start of the summer schedule," he says.

Private Iranian airline Mahan Air also boosted links between Turkey and Tehran recently with the launch of a five times weekly scheduled service to Istanbul.

Further afield

With so much focus falling on a handful of established destinations, it's easy to forget that Turkey is an enormous country - the size of the UK and metropolitan France combined, in fact. And with this size comes mind-boggling diversity.

"Frankly, the place is brimming with unique selling points - from history and myths to legends to beaches, ruins and cosmopolitan cities. There is truly something for everyone," says John Flower, product manager for Alpha Holidays Dubai.

"For natural wonders, Cappadocia is a must, as well as Pamukkale. For history lovers, there is Ephesus, Pergumum, Troy, Side, Aspendos and Bodrum. In fact, two of the original seven wonders of the ancient world are in Turkey - the tomb of King Mausel in Halicarnassus, now Bodrum, and the Roman temple of Artemis at Ephesus near Izmir."

One of the greatest challenges in selling Turkey, Flower notes, is a lack of awareness of its true scale, which leads to unrealistic expectations of what can be achieved within specific timeframes.

"People never have enough time and they forget just how big a country it is; travellers want to do too much with too little time," he says.

And with Turkish authorities attempting to develop a range of new tourism destinations and products, this is set to become even more of a challenge. Izmir and Ankara, in particular, are keen to prove that tourism is not the preserve of a select few - and international hotel chains have taken note.

"Before, there wasn't an alternative to Istanbul [for visitors].It had a head start when it came to tourism," confirms Stuart Chase, general manager of the newly-opened Swissôtel Grand Efes, Izmir. "But now you have places such as Ankara and Izmir that are emerging."

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