Timur Bayındır

Iranian holidaymakers will flock to Turkey during the Nevruz holiday, Hotel Association of Turkey (TÜROB) President Timur Bayındır said in a statement, adding that Istanbul and the eastern province of Van will be their favorite destinations.

Turkey needs to open tourist-only casinos in order to lure more Chinese tourists to Turkey, Turkish Travel Agencies Union (TÜRSAB) president Timur Bayındır has said.

Hotel occupancy rates in Istanbul surged nearly 100 percent in July compared to the same month of last year but hotel revenues continued to decline, falling to around a third of hotels in cities such as Paris, the Hotel Association of Turkey (TÜROB) has stated. 

Hotel investments across Turkey accelerated in the first half of the year after a tough period for the tourism industry, with the country's Black Sea region seeing a number of new hotels amid a flock of tourists from Middle Eastern markets. 

Istanbul hotels' loss in revenue exceeded 1 billion euros in the first half of 2017 compared to the same period of 2015, despite a recent ease in security concerns, a leading sector association stated on July 31. 

Istanbul again saw the largest revenue loss among all European destinations in 2017, the Hotels Association of Turkey (TÜROB) said in a statement, citing STR Global data. 

Hotel occupancy rates across Turkey rose sharply in April thanks to the Easter holiday and a significant revival in the Middle Eastern market, with Istanbul seeing a 30 percent year-on-year increase, although hotel revenues continued to decline, a leading association announced on May 30. 

Turkey's hotel occupancy rates rose in March after months of decline thanks to a surge in the number of business meetings and the sharp rise in the number of Iranian tourists visiting Turkey during the Nevruz holiday. However, hotel revenues have continued to decline in the first quarter of 2017, a leading sector association announced on April 27. 

Turkey's tourism sector has kept losing its share in Germany, with German tourists opting to visit other countries such as Spain and Greece rather than Turkey, amid security concerns and recent tensions in bilateral ties, said a leading sector association on April 21. 

Istanbul's embattled tourism may lose in 2017 and the city needs urgent measures to be taken, as hotel room prices keep decreasing, a leading sector association has said.

Hotels in Istanbul experienced the biggest decline in both revenue per available room (RevPAR) and average daily rate (ADR), a measure of the average rate paid for rooms sold, among all European destinations in January, as the city's hotel occupancy rates continued to decline, fresh data showed.