Tui Group has pledged to expand its operations in Turkey by further extending the season beyond the summer and targeting clients from new markets.
Sebastian Ebel, chief executive, met the Turkish tourism minister Mehmet Ersoy recently on a visit to Ankara and Istanbul to discuss how Tui’s growth in the country can be “further accelerated”.
His visit came at the end of a “strong” summer season with “impressive growth” from all markets.
Tui said it is strengthening its work with Turkish hotel partners to boost visitor numbers and the company will also expand the portfolio of its own hotel brands in the country.
It already has 33 Tui hotels and resorts in Turkey, offering more than 25,000 beds.
The two most recent additions to the hotel portfolio opened this year: the Tui Blue Angora Beach and the Tui Magic Life Beldibi.
Tui will also focus on extending the season to include autumn and winter tourism. Germany and the UK are among the markets that already offer Turkey as a year-round destination.
Other source markets will also expand their programmes into the winter season.
Furthermore, Tui will target customers from new markets, with a special focus on Eastern Europe as well as international travellers from non-European markets.
Ebel said: “Turkey has been a guest favourite for years, and this year we see it further solidified with impressive growth from all markets.
“We want to grow our presence in Turkey in all segments of our business – with our tour operators and airlines, our leading hotel brands and also in the activities segment as well as with the cruise business.
“Turkey’s tourism sector is amongst the most successful in the world and it has enormous potential to develop further – for the benefit of Türkiye and its people.
“We are very proud of our outstanding hotel partners in Türkiye and we are committed to taking our strong partnerships to the next level.”