Turkey is becoming an increasingly popular tourism destination for Saudis and Gulf nationals besides a large number of expatriates living in the six Gulf states. In addition to the waters of the Bosphorus, the nightlife of its cities, historic buildings and landmarks at every turn, Turkey, particularly the city of Istanbul, is home to a number of Islamic monuments and remnants of its Islamic heritage and Muslim-friendly accommodations that are making it also a favorite stopover for travelers on their way back from pilgrimage to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.

“Turkey is very accessible in terms of distance from Saudi Arabia,” said Guran Korkmaz, director of Turkish Airline (THY) for Central and Eastern Regions. Korkmaz said that Turkish Airlines was operating 28 flights a week from Saudi Arabia to Turkey including 14 flights a week from Jeddah alone.

“It is operating daily service from Riyadh, while the airline flies every day from Madinah to Turkey,” said the THY director, adding that Turkey can be an ideal location for tourists for one and all for many reasons.

“Outside of the universal attractions, several factors in Turkey appeal to Muslim considerations, making it more fascinating for Muslim tourists,” said Korkmaz.

He pointed out that the ready availability of meat that is halal, restaurants that do not serve alcoholic beverages, mosques to pray in and the call to prayer that resonates through the streets five times a day are some major attractions for Muslim tourists and businessmen. These are the regions that many cities of Turkey, especially Istanbul, are reporting an upswing in the number of tourists and businessmen from the Middle East countries.

An upward trend in the number of tourists traveling to Antalya, another Turkish tourism hotspot on the Mediterranean coast, has also been reported, he added. June was especially noteworthy in terms of the rise in tourists’ visits, while companies in that Turkish region were quite optimistic that the numbers would continue to rise in the next two months. In 2008, nearly nine million foreign tourists visited Antalya alone. In fact, the number of tourists heading to Turkish cities of Ankara, Istanbul, Antalya and Izmir are sharply rising, while the number to traditional European destinations on the Mediterranean, such as Spain, Italy and Greece, is on the decline.

This is one of the reasons that THY expects sales to grow to above $5 billion this year as it expands its fleet to grab market share from European rivals, said Korkmaz, while quoting THY chief executive Temel Kotil.

Referring to the facilities offered by THY, Korkmaz said: “With its young fleet, superior service and the unique hospitality, it is a luxury to travel by this airline.”

THY said in a statement that the number of passengers increased to 11.2 million in the January-June period of 2009 from 10.3 million in the same period last year. Meanwhile, amount of cargo carried by the THY rose 7.1 percent to 101,645 tons in the first half of the year from 94,891 tons in the same period previous year. Turkish Airlines, which is a member of the Star Alliance, currently flies to more than 960 destinations across the globe.

Not only this, Turkish Airlines is also on an expansion course, said Korkmaz. The airline, he said, has also tied up its services and joined the networks with the CIS Countries, Central Asia, Far East Asia, Middle East and Africa.