Turkey’s villa holiday market looks primed for growth as value-driven Brits, many of whom are repeat visitors, are increasingly looking beyond hotel complexes in major resort centres and choosing the individuality of a villa or apartment.
The inherent flexibility and value offered by the self-catering villa option makes it ideal for groups and families with young children, and in recent years, the number of options in Turkey has risen markedly thanks to an increase in quality and quantity. Recent talk of in-resort price hikes in the country hasn’t harmed the sector either.
Exclusive Escapes is increasing its villa offering. The operator now carries the best part of 50 properties with notable recent additions in the Kalkan area – for more details see the feature on page 58.
Since Interhome added Turkey last year it has built a portfolio of 95 properties, most centred around Bodrum and Antalya, with options ranging from private villas with pools to apartments.
Annie Corcoran, head of self-catering at the company, says: “We always have special offers on villas for last-minute bookings, with 33% off for booking within 10 days of travel.”
She particularly recommends the luxury apartment Gümüslük, located on the Bodrum Peninsula, in a village noted for its fine fish restaurants.
Strong growth figures are being reported at Artemis Travel, which offers more than 200 apartments, villas and penthouses in Didim, Altinkum and Akbuk on Turkey’s Aegean Coast. Trading figures are up by 28% year on year.
To add more flexibility and value, Artemis charges per property per night, with no under-occupancy supplements, no big price increases for school holidays, any day arrival, any duration stays, and pre-bookable transfers. It also offers items such as cots, high chairs and grocery packs, and because it doesn’t include flights, you can pick those that best suit your client’s diary and budget.
In its Villas With Style 2011 brochure, which is released in July, Thomas Cook will feature 29 new villas in its prime stomping ground in the Dalaman region and nine in Bodrum. The operator has also added new resorts including Kas and Gocek to the current mix, which includes Dalyan, Kalkan and Olu Deniz. Prices lead in at just £299 and there are discounts and hundreds of free kids places up for grabs.
Over at Tui, self-catering products are a key focus for its Simply Travel brand, which features six resorts in Bodrum and 10 in Dalaman. Simply Travel carries a range of villas such as the Villa Eda and Villa Olive in Atakoy and Banana Valley Villa in Belbidi, as well as a range of other standalone products such as the rustic Ocakkoy Cottages with pools in Ovacik.
Villas are a key focus for Ilios Travel, which has been featuring Turkey since 1987. Bookings are up by about 20% year on year, and this year the operator has added new villa product in Bitez on the Bodrum Peninsula and Selimiye, Kas and Kalkan. In addition to offering commission, you will get a £5 shopping voucher for every passenger booked.
At Cosmos, Villas with Pools product manager Jill Marshall says the company plans to ramp up its villas options in the country for 2011, with expanded product in Dalaman and Antalya.
In its current brochure it offers four villas in the resort of Ovacik on the Turquoise Coast, served by Dalaman airport about an hour and 45 minutes away, offering easy access to big draw sights such as Olu Deniz National Park, home to Turkey’s most photographed bay.
This is the first full year that Hoseasons has featured Turkey in its villas programme, having introduced it in 2009 as an online offering. The operator is reporting robust sales on its expanded 2010 range, with longer-than-average stays, and strong demand in the shoulder seasons.
Olympic Holidays features self-catering apartments at Marmaris, Icmeler and Ovacik, Hisaronu on the Turquoise Coast; Bodrum and Gumbet on the Bodrum Peninsula; and at Side, near Antalya, on the Turkish Riviera.
What the operators say
Annie Corcoran, Interhome head of self-catering: “Villa holidays offer space, freedom and a comfortable base from which to explore the local region. Most properties also have barbecues, while eating out is
also remarkably good value.”
Nigel Harris, Artemis sales and operations director: “Holidaymakers see that Turkey offers a good range of restaurants at good prices, and an opportunity of experiencing the local culture.”
Patricia Woodburn, Ilios Travel product manager: “Agents are telling us that their customers are looking for the ‘undiscovered Turkey’, something a little different away from the large tourist spots. We have seen an increasing number of customers who have visited Turkey before, but now want to sample something more individual.”
Pali Badwal, Hoseasons operations director: “Turkey represents excellent value for money, and demand has been price-led. Because of the good value, the average holiday duration has been longer in Turkey than any other country where we operate, with a large number of fortnight bookings giving us an average holiday length of 11 nights. We are seeing mainly families, picking complexes of villas and apartments with shared pools, both for reasons of cost, and because that kind of holiday is very attractive to holidaymakers with children.”
Photis Lambrianides, Olympic Holidays commercial director: “First-time visitors unsure of what to expect will probably opt for an all-inclusive holiday, but once they see for themselves that the resorts offer high standards with good restaurants and nightlife, confidence builds and the following summer they may well choose to self-cater. This is helping Turkey to develop a rounded tourism product, and I foresee a boom time ahead.”
Sample packages
Olympic Holidays offers 14 nights’ self-catering for a family of four (two adults and two children) at the Dost Apartments in Gumbet on Turkey’s Bodrum Peninsula for £1,408 until August 25, sharing a one-bedroom apartment. Price includes flights from Gatwick and transfers. olympicholidays.com, 0844 499 4449
Hoseasons is featuring the Beach Villas in Altinkum – a group of 65 three-bedroom townhouses. They cost £65-£90 per night and are bookable for durations of at least four nights. hoseasons.co.uk/agents, 0844 847 1144
Exclusive Escapes has seven nights at Korsan Koy, including return flights from various UK airports, transfers, seven days’ jeep hire, a welcome hamper and cleaner, from £1,500 per person for the first two sharing, and £550 per person for each additional guest. Sleeps 12. exclusiveescapes.co.uk, 020 8605 3500
