Arabs acquire properties worth $50 million in northern Turkish province

People from Arab countries have bought properties worth a total of $50 million in Turkey's Black Sea province of Ordu so far this year, Ordu Governor ?rfan Balkanl?o?lu has stated. 

Balkanl?o?lu said more than 30,000 Arabs visited the city in the first six months of the year, a dramatic rise compared to last year's figures. 

"We have seen a rapid rise in the number of Arab investors and tourists to Ordu this year, especially after the opening of Europe's first airport on a man-made island off Ordu in May," he noted, saying the city administration had engaged in intensive promotional activities abroad that have already started to yield results. 

A number of media representatives visited the city from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Lebanon, Egypt and Morocco last month, upon the city administration's invitation, Balkanl?o?lu said. 

"With the additional promotional activities, the number of Arab tourists visiting Ordu increased to 30,000 this year, although only 15,000 Arabs visited our city in 2014 as a whole. Arabs also acquired properties worth $50 million in Ordu and we expect to see a further rise in sales in the coming months," he added. 

Property sales to foreigners hit record high levels in May with the sale of 1,982 units, marking a 21.3 percent increase from the same month in 2014, according to Turkish Statistics Agency (TÜ?K) data. 

Construction of the artificial island off Ordu and Giresun, which cost around 360 million Turkish Liras ($132.6 million), began in July 2011 and the airport was officially opened on May 22, 2015.