Tag Archives: tURKEY

In a decisive move reflecting the current geopolitical tensions, leading Indian travel agencies such as EaseMyTrip, Cox & Kings and ixigo have suspended all travel packages, all flight and hotel bookings to Turkey and Azerbaijan in solidarity with India following the Pahalgam terror attack. Both countries expressed diplomatic support for Pakistan, as a result of which several Indian travel operators have paused bookings to these destinations, advising caution.

Türkiye started full fledge vaccination of the tourism employees in coordination with The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Ministry of Health and Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA). Vaccination program will cover the employees of the airlines, airports, accommodation facilities, travel agencies as well as the professional guides. Vaccination of the entire tourism staff will be completed before the beginning of 2021 summer season. Within the scope of ‘Safe Tourism Certification Program’, vaccination program aims to welcome international travellers for the upcoming summer season and ensure the health and safety of tourism employees and its residents. Since the launch of ‘Safe Tourism Certification Program’ in June 2020, Türkiye has been following stringent health and safety guidelines and taking all necessary steps to ensure it continues to be safe. Before the opening of the season, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism started to work on inclusion of the tourism sector employees into the vaccination program to ensure that the tourism services in the country remain open throughout the year. The vaccination program is carried out meticulously in coordination with the Ministry of Health. Vaccination program of tourism employees started in line with priorities and within the scope of the ‘Safe Tourism Certification Program’. As part of continuing effort to fight against COVID-19 and further enhance position as one of the world’s safest destinations, Türkiye is continuing to invest in ‘Safe Tourism Certification Program’ which is one of the first and most successful examples in the world in this field. The Country has expanded the scope of the practice and made it compulsory for accommodation facilities with 30 or more rooms. Up to now more than 8.000 facilities were certified. As …

Accor has added India and Turkey to its Middle East & Africa region. Under the newly expanded region would come a portfolio of over 84,000 rooms across 400 hotels. This regional expansion brings an increased pipeline of over 112 properties, scheduled to open in the coming 24 months, bringing the overall number of keys close to 110,000 rooms. “The addition of Turkey and India to our already diverse region means that we will be able to consolidate the existing relationship and work that has been accomplished over the years and centralize it into a collective effort. It is in a strategic but natural move that we are integrating India and Turkey to our portfolio with long term plans in sight for the future of the region,” says Mark Willis, Chief Executive Officer, Turkey, India, Middle East & Africa for Accor.

VFS Global is re-opening Visa Application Centres in some cities for specific visa categories. Countries for which visa services will resume are United Kingdom (from July 6), Italy (July 3), UAE, Turkey, Ireland, Belarus, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Norway, Portugal and South Korea. Applicants will have to schedule an appointment in advance on www.vfsglobal.com. After specific Embassies/Consulates as well as local authorities have given their approval, VFS Global’s centres will accept visa applications for select countries with strict health and hygiene SOPs in place.

VFS Global has signed a contract with the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic for providing visa services in 10 countries including India. The other countries to get visa application centres for Slovakia via VFS Global are China, Kazakhstan, Palestine, Belarus, Russia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Egypt. The rollout of 38 visa application centres is expected to be completed by December 2018. Under the new contract, VFS Global will accept both short and long-term visa applications on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic. Chris Dix, Head – Business Development, VFS Global, said, “We are excited about our new partnership with the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic. The countries where we will be operating are markets where VFS Global has worked for several years and whose travellers are familiar with our services and expertise. We are also pleased to have the opportunity to serve our new clients in new locations, and bring applicants in these locations the same benefits and high-quality service that we have been offering our customers worldwide for the last 17 years.”

Indian nationals having supporting document are now eligible for Turkish e-Visa – equivalent to the sticker visa issued at Turkish missions. Getting e-visa costs 45 USD less than sticker visa and it takes only 3 minutes at the said website. Turkish mission in India delegates no handling company for e-visa. One needs to log on to official web site https://www.evisa.gov.tr. Turkish e-visa is only valid when the purpose of travel is tourism or commerce. For other purposes, such as work and study, Turkish Embassy or Consulates will issue visa. E-visa kiosks at any airport in Istanbul will not be available after October 28, 2018. One needs to get e-visa before departure to Turkey.

The Turkish Tourism Board in India recently announced that the number of Indian tourists travelling to Turkey has doubled with 95 per cent increase from January to July. Commenting on the growth, Deniz Ersöz, Culture & Tourism Counsellor, Embassy of the Republic of Turkey said, “In 2017, Turkey hosted more than 32 million international tourists while from India the number was 87,000. This year, from January to July, we recorded 25 per cent increase in the number of overall tourists. That means we will be hosting 40 million international tourists by the end of 2018. When we look at figures from India, we see 95 per cent increase for the same period. If this trend continues we will be hosting almost 2 lakh Indian tourists by the end of this year.” Ersöz further added, “Istanbul, Antalya, Cappadocia, Troy and Izmir are extremely popular with Indian travellers. However, Bodrum and Marmaris have also emerged as major tourist attractions in recent past. In addition to that, Konya where Celaleddin Rumi spent his last 45 years, the sacred site where he was buried is also among the popular destinations for Indians.”

Indian Tourist arrivals to Turkey saw an increase of 95 per cent in the first four months of 2018 in comparison to the same period of 2017. While 19,803 Indians visited Turkey from January to April last year, this figure rose to 38,471 in the same period this year. The first quarter of 2018 has seen a 32 per cent increase in number of international tourists visiting Turkey, as compared to the same period of 2017. The country is preparing to host 40 million international tourists by the end of 2018, which will be a record for the country. While Antalya, Istanbul, Mugla, Cappadocia and Izmir remain the top destinations in Turkey, by the end of 2018, 200000 Indian tourists are expected to visit Turkey. Indian arrivals to Turkey reached its highest in 2015, which is considered as one of the best year in tourism. Looking at the numbers, it is expected that the Indian market will leave behind 2015 figures, which will be an increase of 50 per cent.

Around 300 attendees from over 55 countries are attending the International MICE & Wedding Forum taking place in Antalya, Turkey from May 28-June 1. India is represented by a strong contingent of 120 participants. The third edition of  the event is taking place at the  Titanic Deluxe Golf Belek, Antalya, Turkey.  Speaking at the event, Necip Fuat Ersoy, MD, IMWF said, “Our journey for this event has been hard, consistent and totally exhilarating. We pursued our dreams and each step we took propelled us to where we are today. I am so happy we dared to make this journey come true. Along the way, we met some incredible people and they all helped us. Friends, friends of our friends. I thank them all and without you this could not have happened.” IMWF brings together professionals, opinion leaders with strategic innovative ideas and partnerships in the industry. While the participants have the chance to communicate one-to-one with the world’s best MiCE and wedding planners, they establish long-term friendships and communication networks with industry trend makers from  different countries.

Tourists and businessmen from India and 17 other countries can now travel to Russia’s Far East without a visa, informed Dmitry Medvedev, the Prime Minister of Russia. In order to boost tourism and investment in the region, the nationals of these 18 countries will have simplified entry procedures into Russia through the free port of Vladivostok. According to Pavel Volkov, Deputy Minister, Development of the Far East, tourists and entrepreneurs will only be required to fill a form on the website of Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Applications will be approved within four days. Electronic single entry visas will be issued directly at the Russian border and will be valid for 30 days. The 17 countries apart from India include Algeria, Bahrain, Brunei, Iran, Qatar, China, North Korea, Kuwait, Morocco, Mexico, UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Tunisia, Turkey, and Japan. “I have recently approved the list of countries, whose nationals can take advantage of the preferential regime. We are proactively forming the modern infrastructure and creating special regimes in the far East; the law on visits to the Vladivostok free port was approved in March. This is not because these states are situated at a closer or longer distance – we are appropriately introducing bilateral agreements on visa-free travel for those ready to use such an approach for us,” said Medvedev. Volkov further said, “We’d like to see an increase in tourism to the region by at least 30 percent. Given the fact that every wealthy tourist spends at least $1,000 in the territory, we assume this will significantly increase the opportunities for the development of the region, trade turnover, and currency flows.” Source: Live Mint