Ahead of the forthcoming Turkey & Neighbours Hotel Investment Conference, Murat Ersoy, the Chairman of Turkey’s Tourism Investors Association, provided an update on developments in the tourism sector and gave some tips for investors.
Ahead of the fourth annual Turkey & Neighbours Hotel Investment Conference, which will be held in Istanbul, event partners Alkaş and Turkey’s Tourism Investors Association (TYD) held a press conference at the Dedeman Hotel where data on Turkey’s tourism market was shared and updates on development investments in the tourism sector were provided.
TYD Chairman Murat Ersoy highlighted that the new trend in the hotel industry is ”City center hotels”. Ersoy added that the primary consideration for those looking to invest in city centre hotels should be brand awareness and the ability of the hotels to stand out in the market. The secondary consideration should be large sales and distribution networks. Ersoy also stressed that by working with international hotel brand chains, these two considerations would be met, which would allow access to “cheaper, easier and faster” finance.
“City center hotels have a longer season, as well as lower operating costs, and so their annual occupancy/profitability ratios are higher. Therefore, the return on investment is greater,” added Ersoy. His speech also underlined that Turkish investors should switch from trying to create their own hotel brands and instead work with international hotel chains that are the preferred choice of businesses.
This point was re-emphasized by Alkaş General Manager, Yonca Aközer. “The Turkey and Neighbours Hotel Investment Conference is a major event for the hospitality industry in this region. How local investors should work with international brands will be just one of many topics that will be discussed and debated. CEOs of more than 60 domestic and international brands will participate in the conference, and with more than 300 delegates and more than 100 global brands present, this is a conference no one in the region can afford to miss.”
Ömer Çelik, Minister of Tourism and Culture will participate at CATHIC, taking place at the new Hilton Istanbul Bomonti hotel from 9-10 June 2014. The conference aims to facilitate new partnerships by bringing together the hospitality sector in Turkey, which has an important place among developing countries, together with international investors and brands.
