Turkey’s popularity as a holiday destination has grown among Indian travellers, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. In the first half of 2024, the country received 165,000 Indian visitors, including travellers from tier 2 and 3 cities, a 33.2% increase from a year ago.
Among the tourist hotspots in Istanbul are Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and Grand Bazaar. Some visitors seek to explore Cappadocia’s unique rock formations, Pamukkale’s travertine terraces and thermal springs, the resort town of Bodrum, and Antalya’s beaches and ancient ruins.
“We are strategically planning to expand our routes to major Indian cities, tapping into the rising demand for international travel there,” said Olmutur. “India has emerged as a pivotal market for Turkish tourism, and we anticipate this trend to continue growing annually.”
Turkey is also emerging as a preferred location for HNI weddings in India.Ralph Radtke, general manager and regional vice president of Kempinski Hotels, said, “I consider myself the godfather of Indian weddings in Turkey. It all began when steel tycoon Pramod Mittal’s daughter married at Cıraan Palace Kempinski in 2011. Today, approximately 20% of the 70-80 weddings the hotel hosts each year are for prominent Indian families…”To tap the increase in outbound travel from India, nations such as Turkey, Thailand and Azerbaijan have started wooing holidayers, promising them a unique experience – from wellness retreats to adventure trips.
Last year, about 28.2 million people flew out of India, collectively spending about $28 billion on foreign trips, according to a FICCI-Nangia knowledge paper titled ‘Navigating Horizons: The Rise and Future of Indian Outbound Tourism’.
According to officials, Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism aims to push up the Indian arrivals figure next year to 350,000.
Turkish officials are optimistic about the growth potential of the India-Turkey tourism corridor and are trying to forge collaborations with India’s travel ecosystem, particularly in areas like tourism marketing, agent partnerships and cultural exchange programmes.
(The correspondent was in Istanbul at the invitation of Turkish Airlines)