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Turkish Tourism & Culture News

April 23rd, 2010 by admin

Turkish Tourism & Culture News – Spring 2010
London – UK, Turkey is a great-value travel destination this year and promises to be as popular as ever with more than 26 million visitors in 2009. It remains a hugely popular destination with British visitors, with 2.43 million arriving from the UK last year – behind only Germany and Russia – with further growth predicted this year.
A highlight for 2010 is Istanbul taking on the mantle of European City of Culture with a wide array of arts and cultural events across the city throughout the year reinforcing Turkey’s diversity and appeal as a holiday destination.
From culture-vultures seeking holidays interwoven with art, archaeology and history and hedonists on hip city-breaks to nature-lovers or families wanting simply to relax on unspoiled beaches or go sailing in hidden coves, Turkey offers something for everyone.
Top holiday & city break destination
Turkey’s appeal as the top holiday destination for the Brits has been confirmed by many of the top tour operators. Thomson/First Choice named Turkey in the number one spot for their Top Ten Hot Destinations for 2010. While British Airways expects Istanbul to be the second most popular destination for 2010 (after Cape Town).
According to the Co-operative Travel company the Turkish resort of Dalaman has become the number one holiday destination for UK travellers, taking over from Majorca, seeing an 82% increase in bookings during 2009. Last May Skyscanner announced the 10 fastest-growing destinations for British holidaymakers and Turkey was the biggest winner, with three destinations on the list: Dalaman (+160% since 2008), Istanbul (+157%) and Bodrum (+153%).
Turkey was also number one in the online TripAdvisor TravelCast which identifies up-and-coming travel destinations based on search activity and postings for the past year, naming the 12-mile long beach at Patara on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast in fourth place.
The Post Office’s Holiday Money Report 2009 reported that Turkey has been the UK’s most popular destination for two years running, that Turkish Lira has risen to the 3rd most in-demand global currency and first in Europe, with a 44% growth in year-on-year sales of the currency at the Post Office Bureaux de Changes – and that this demand is set to rise with Istanbul taking on the title of European Capital of Culture, capturing a share of the holiday market from Spain, Greece and France.
Belek, in the region of Antalya on the Turkish Riviera, has the best reputation for quality hotels according to online site trivago which analysed the most popular European beach destinations for the first time. Trivago found that Belek received 80 out of 100 points on its hotel evaluation scale.
So it is no surprise that many tour operators have put Turkey in their brochures for the first time, added new tours to Turkey or expanded their programmes in response to this rising demand and interest. Many airlines have also increased flights to Turkey for the summer 2009 season, a move that clearly paid off, and even more flights are scheduled for 2010.
News – Turkey
As European Capital of Culture for 2010, Istanbul is hosting a plethora of events throughout the year across the city from heritage, visual arts & multimedia to film, theatre & dance, music, museums, literature & poetry. Many other projects are well underway, from restoration work on historic sites such as the Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Suleymaniye Mosque and the Ataturk Cultural Centre to the construction of brand-new art and cultural centres, from ongoing festivals and arts events to the commissioning of new artistic works for 2010. For full calendar of events please see www.en.istanbul2010.org

The Evliya Çelebi Ride, an epic journey of 1400km lasting a legendary forty days and forty nights, has forged the way for a European cultural route through western Turkey. An international group of scholars and horse enthusiasts retraced on horseback the first section of the ten-volume Seyahatname, or ‘Book of Travels by Evliya Çelebi (1611-c1684), one of the greatest of Ottoman travellers, covering the same routes as the fabled caravans of the Silk Road. From Hersek, on the southern shore of the Sea of Marmara, the travellers made their way to Iznik, Bursa, Kütahya, Afyon, Uşak, Simav, Çavdarhisar, and back to Kütahya, Evliya’s ancestral city. The expedition proved how suitable the Turkish countryside still is for riding, trekking and other forms of sustainable tourism. The ride turned out to be a timely expedition as UNESCO recently announced that 2011 will be the UNESCO ‘Year of Evliya Çelebi’.

The core of this re-enacted Evliya Çelebi Ride were Ercihan Dilari of the Akhal-Teke Horse Centre in Cappadocia, Ottoman historian and Edinburgh University honorary fellow Caroline Finkel, UK university professors Donna Landry of Kent and Gerald MacLean of Exeter. Additional riders, who joined for short periods, included Patricia Daunt, wife of a former British ambassador to Turkey and PlantLife International botanist Andrew Byfield. Future rides are being planned along the Evliya Çelebi Way and journalists are invited to get in touch if interested in participating – www.hoofprinting.blogspot.com

The WRC Rally of Turkey has been held in Kemer-Antalya since 2003 but with Istanbul being one of the 2010 European Capitals of Culture, the Rally of Turkey 2010, the 4th leg of FIA World Rally Championship, will take place in Istanbul on April 14-18, 2010. The event will kick off in Sultanahmet Square on 15 April with a super special stage to be held in Kadikoy on 16 April – www.rallyofturkey.org

The fourth Global Spa Summit is being held May 17-19, 2010 at the historic Çırağan Palace Kempinski Hotel. The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism is Platinum sponsor. The Summit and the Ministry will partner not only to promote the growth of the spa and wellness industries worldwide, but also to increase global awareness of Turkey’s unique national spa and thermal culture – both historic and modern – and the rich, cultural mosaic that is Istanbul. Istanbul is a natural fit for the Summit and dovetails with the 2010 Summit theme of ‘Bridges Worth Building,’ and of course, spa culture is deeply ingrained in Turkey’s national identity, reflecting its unique geography and history. The country is home to more than 1,300 natural thermal springs (ranking among the top two in the world), as well as the traditional Turkish hamam – www.globalspasummit.org.

Marmaris will hold a five-day Maritime & Spring Festival between 19 and 23 May which will include shows and competitions on a maritime theme for all to participate in. Opened by Turkish dance group Anadolu Ateşi (‘Anatolian Fire’), other groups from Turkey and Northern Cyrus and countries including China, Brazil, Germany, Bulgaria and Czech Republic will perform. Competitions will include the traditional greasy mast contest where participants will attempt to retrieve a Turkish flag at the end of the horizontal mast of a gulet sailing boat – www.marmarisfestival.com

This year’s Turkish leg of Formula One (F1) will take place on 28-30 May in Istanbul at Istanbul Park, one of F1’s most challenging race courses. Featuring 14 challenging bends and an unusual anti-clockwise layout, it is considered a benchmark test of both driver and car, and the multi-apex Turn Eight has already gone down in Formula One folklore as one of the sport’s toughest corners – www.formula1.com/races/in_detail/turkey_830

The International Cross-Continental Swim on the Bosphorus in Istanbul, with contestants swimming between Europe and Asia, will take place on 18 July 2010. Applications are now open to take part in this year’s swim – www.bosphorus.cc

Turkey will host the 2010 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Championship for Men between August 28 and September 12 2010. The championship will consist of 24 competing countries and four groups playing in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Kayseri, with the knockout round taking place in Istanbul – www.turkey2010.fiba.com

Harvey Nichols is set to open its second store in Turkey in Ankara on the back of its success in Istanbul following a deal signed with Turkish investment group Demsa.

Turkey in the UK

Turkey won the Best International Destination Stand Award in the category of ‘International Venues, Destinations & Travel’ in 2010 at Confex 2010, held 23-25 February 2010 at London’s Earls Court Exhibition Centre. Istanbul Convention & Visitors Bureau Sales & Marketing Manager Mrs. Elif Balci Fisunoglu received the award at Confex.

World renowned Turkish pianist Idil Beret will be featuring in the Whitehall Orchestra Spring concert with Idil Biret in London on Thursday 25 March 2010 at 19:30. The concert will be held at St John’s, Smith Square, London.

Turkish photographer Vehbi Koca’s exhibition “His/tanbul” is being showing at the European Commission Representation in the UK’s 12 Star Gallery between 31 March and 16 April 2010. The exhibition, in celebration of Istanbul European Capital of Culture 2010, Vehbi Koca propounds us with magical and passionate images of this ancient city, of “His/tanbul”. 12 Star Gallery is open daily Monday to Friday between 10:00 – 18:00 at 8 Storey’s Gate, London SW1P 3AT – www.vehbikoca.com

Acclaimed Turkish pianist and composer Mehmet Okonsar will perform his UK debut in an intimate invitation-only concert recital at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 7th April 2010 with pieces by Chopin, Berg, Stockhausen and Stravinsky. The exclusive evening, hosted by the Turkish Embassy and Turkish Culture and Tourism Office UK, will host journalists, key industry players and official dignitaries from the UK and abroad, whilst Mehmet Okonsar will be on hand to give interviews and with opportunities for taking photographs and CD signings – www.okonsar.com

Nobel Prize Winner Orhan Pamuk’s latest book, The Museum of Innocence, has been published in the UK to critical acclaim. Set in Istanbul between 1975 and today – the book tells the story of Kemal, the son of one of Istanbul’s richest families, and of his obsessive love for a poor and distant relation, the beautiful Fusun, who is a shop-girl in a small boutique; beautifully captures the identity crisis experienced by Istanbul’s upper classes who find themselves caught between traditional and westernised ways of being. For the past ten years, Pamuk has been setting up a museum in the house in which his hero’s fictional family lived, to display Kemal’s strange collection of objects associated with Fusun and their relationship. The real museum will be called The Museum of Innocence which opens in Istanbul later 2010.

Places in Turkey: A Pocket Grand Tour has just been released in paperback. Francis Russell has been travelling in Turkey for more than twenty years, and provides a fascinating and comprehensive itinerary of undiscovered Turkey with his eighty three recommendations. From the lost classical world of the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine sites, and Armenian and Georgian churches to the great monuments of the Seljuk and Ottoman civilizations, from the much visited southern coast to the heartlands of Anatolia, the book is both evocative and tantalising.

Hotels, Tours & Transport
In response to growing demand many airlines have launched new flights from the UK to the popular Turkish destinations of Bodrum, Dalaman, and Antalya. Turkish Airlines launched a new daily London Stansted – Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen late last year. The airline also signed a three-and-a-half year deal as Official Airline sponsor to Manchester United in January – www.thy.com

Pegasus Airlines is launching new direct flights to the holiday destinations of Antalya, Bodrum and Dalaman, flying variously from London Gatwick, London Stansted, Manchester and Birmingham – www.flypgs.com

Thomas Cook has new weekly flights from Exeter to Dalaman starting in May – www.flythomascook.com

Monarch has new flights for the 2010 summer season between Birmingham and Dalaman, Luton and Bodrum and Dalaman, and Manchester and Antalya. It has also increased the number of flights between London Gatwick and Bodrum and Dalaman, and Manchester and Bodrum and Dalaman – www.monarch.co.uk New direct flights have also been launched by EasyJet from London Stansted, Bristol and Liverpool to Bodrum and Dalaman – www.easyjet.com Jet2 has new routes in operation from Newcastle and East Midlands to Dalaman – www.jet2.com

Kiss Flights is now flying from Glasgow to Dalaman in the summer peak period in addition to its flights from other locations in the UK – www.kissflights.com

Two steam trains have been refurbished and put back into service in the southern province of Adana in March for the Turkish State Railways (TCDD), thus contributing to the region’s developing tourism industry, offering something new to visitors to the area;

Top-quality hotels continue to open across Turkey with the latest in March 2010 in the central city of Kayseri: the Novotel Kayseri and the Ibis Kayseri;

MiaPera is Istanbul’s newest and most stylish addition to asmalimescit, the ever-more trendy pocket around Galata. The hotel is named after the area’s Italian heritage – www.miaperahotel.com

The hotly awaited re-opening of the Pera Palace in Istanbul, where such celebrated guests as Agatha Christie and Ernst Hemingway once stayed, is now set to open in June 2010 – www.perapalas.com

The Rezidor Hotel Group AB has announced that it will open its third Radisson Blu hotel in Istanbul, Turkey, in the fourth quarter of 2011. The Istanbul Asia hotel will have 194 guest rooms, a diner, two bars, ten function rooms, including a 375 sq m ballroom and a health centre – www.radisson-blu.com

Slow food and Ethical Tourism Promoter, Margaret Scully, has launched a handful of niche tours to Turkey. Following the success of last year’s Rose Harvest and Kackar Mountain tours, this year’s menu has been expanded to include The Fairy Chimney Express, combining overnight sleeper trains, whirling dervishes and fairy chimneys; and The Georgian Valley Express, crossing the entire country from Istanbul to Erzurum the highest city in Turkey – www.margaretscully.com

Turkey in the News

The Turkish Culture and Tourism Office UK launched its first ever commercial UK radio campaign on 8th March with advertising on Magic 105.4 FM, featuring radio and TV presenter Mariella Frostrup. The concept behind the campaign, which features 3 rotating ads backed by evocative music entitled “Bosphorus Blues”, is to position Turkey as a holiday destination with a huge range of experiences to offer and to present an ‘alternative’ side of Turkey to the usual sun, sea, sand and low-cost holiday themes of the past. The campaign will run for eight weeks and reach over 2.6 million listeners nationwide.

The Turkish Culture and Tourism Office UK, together with Turkish Wine Platform, Wines of Turkey, hosted a group of world-renowned British TV wine critics, broadcasters and “Masters of Wine” (MW) in Turkey for the first time between 28 February – 5 March 2010. Visiting Turkey were world-renowned wine expert and broadcaster Oz Clarke; Charles Metcalfe, broadcaster and founder and co-chairman of the globally prestigious International Wine Challenge; Tim Atkin MW, wine critic for The Times and owner of London-based wine school; Caroline Gilby MW, wine writer and critic specialising in Eastern Europe; wine educator and consultant Susan Hulme MW; wine critic and author Stephen Brook. Although guests commenced the trip knowing little of Turkish wines, an average score of ‘good’ was awarded by the critics at the blind tasting of 49 Turkish wines held on the first day; whilst 9 Turkish wines received a score of ‘excellent’, both results surpassing critics expectations and placing Turkish wines firmly on the global stage.

Following on from the success of the trip, the Circle of Wine Writers are launching a ‘charity tasting’ on the first morning of the London Wine Trade Fair (18-20 May), which highlights three wine producing areas that have suffered from natural disasters recently: Madeira, Chile and Turkey. The proceeds from the tasting will be donated to a relevant charity – www.2010.londonwinefair.com

The Travel Channel, reaching 59.5 million householders across 118 countries worldwide in 18 different languages, is broadcasting two special TV shows filmed in Turkey entitled “Essential Istanbul” and “Essential Eastern Turkey”, as well as a special section on Istanbul 2010 on the Holiday Show and Travel Today in March – www.travelchannel.co.uk

“Inside Luxury Travel with Varun Sharma” a TV show introducing viewers to the finest in international travel will be filming in Istanbul this spring. Sharma will be visiting the array of luxury hotspots which have been popping up at a huge rate around the city, from 5-star hotels and residences, to the best dining, shopping, and cultural experiences. The program is aired in 160+ countries and 1.4 billion households worldwide, as well as showing on 11 airlines across 16 languages – www.insideluxurytravel.com

Channel 4 hit daytime travel reality series “Coach Trip” combining one coach, one tour guide, ten weeks, 50 cities across three continents and 7 pairs of people – ended in Turkey this series, which was filmed in October 2009 and broadcast in March. The series can still be downloaded and watched online – http://www.channel4.com/programmes/coach-trip

BBC Radio 3 broadcast a special 45 minute program in February entitled “Sinan the Magnificent” about the astonishing life of Mimar Sinan, court architect to one of the most powerful dynasties the world has known: the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century. The program asked why a man responsible for some four hundred sublime and inventive buildings throughout Turkey, the Balkans and the Middle East is virtually unknown in the West.

Kate Clow, author of The Lycian Way and St Paul Trail revealed her insights on these two marked trails she founded in a public lecture at Destinations London 2010, as well as unveiling the new routes planned in Turkey, including the Evliya Çelebi and Yenice Forest routes. The various trails of Turkey offer opportunities for combined trek and adventure holidays, soft trekking for families and boutique places to stay across coastal trails, high mountain trails; trails following Roman roads, trails through old-growth forest, canyon trails and lakeside trails for all seasons. Kate also appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Excess Baggage during her visit to London – www.trekkinginturkey.com.

www.gototurkey.co.uk
For further press information, please contact Redmint Communications: Evin Mete / Hulya Soylu • T: +44 (0)20 7745 7255 • Turkeytourism@redmintcomms.co.uk

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