eTurbo News Turkey has a booming tourism industry both for domestic and international visitors with some 22 million tourists expected to visit Turkey this year -- an increase of 25 percent over last year, according to figures from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The destination is gearing up for an airport expansion, taking timeshare to the next level, and is enjoying “strong growth†for its very own Turkish Airlines.
Turkish State Airports Authority (DHMI) said it is preparing to launch a build-operate-transfer (BOT) tender for the new international terminal at Bodrum-Milas Airport pegged to accommodate 5 million passengers a year, according to published reports.
New terminal constructions are underway at Ankara, Izmir and Dalaman airports by private companies, which will also operate the terminals.
DHMI has already handed over operations of some of the major airports in Turkey, such as Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Antalya, to the private sector. It plans to hand over to private entities all major airports in Turkey by the next tourism season.
Meanwhile, Europe Travel News has confirmed that RCI, the largest travel membership company in the world has teamed up with one of Turkey’s most prominent hotel chains, The Dedeman Group to affiliate 10 resorts in key tourist centres of the country to its exchange network.
This new alliance affords Dedeman lucrative opportunities to market timeshare to the wealth of international visitors the country attracts.
“Our alliance with Dedeman hails an important milestone for the future of timeshare in Turkey, and is proof of a growing trend that is occurring in the South East Mediterranean region for high profile, well respected hospitality brands to expand into timeshare,†Markus Deutsch, CEO and president of Cendant Vacation Network Group, told reporters.
In another win for Turkish tourism, Turkish Airlines reported "strong growth" in net earnings to $96 million during the third quarter ended Sept. 30, up 28 percent over the year-ago period, as revenues jumped 27 percent to $716 million on a 15 percent increase in passenger numbers to 4.3 million, according to ATWOnline.
"We have delivered a strong trading performance in the year to date, which reflects a combination of good market conditions for tourism and the positive development of Turkey's economy and geopolitical situation," Temel Kotil, who was elevated to CEO in April, told ATWOnline. Third-quarter operating costs rose 30 percent to $623 million. Load factor held steady at 76 percent against an 11 percent climb in capacity.
For the first nine months of 2005, THY reported a net profit of $106 million, an increase of 31 percent over the 2004 period. Revenues rose 30 percent to $1.76 billion while operating expenses increased 33 percent to $1.68 billion, largely owing to a 69 percent surge in fuel expense. The carrier does not hedge its fuel costs.
Looking forward, Kotil said Turkish expects "to begin to enjoy returns from our ongoing investment program in our fleet, which will be one of Europe's youngest by 2008." In September 2004 it placed an order for 15 737-800s and one month later it committed to 36 Airbus aircraft comprising 19 A320s, 12 A312s and five A330-200s. A total of 59 aircraft are on order and the airline said it intends to add 24 international routes in 2006. The projected increase to a 100-plane fleet constitutes an investment of $2 billion. | 
