Turkey Launches Thermal Tourism Plan

The government of Turkey has launched a new plan, thermal tourism, to increase its revenues and encourage more visitors. Thermal tourism will promote tours to the country’s numerous thermal sites. These sites are reputed for a millennia to have therapeutic properties. The Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry claims that the country has the greatest thermal resources in Europe. In fact, Turkey is among the top seven nations in the world in terms of its thermal assets.

The Thermal Tourism Cities Project of Turkey has selected three regions to be given the highest priority in terms of funding and promotion. These regions are the southern Aegean, southern Marmara and central Anatolia. The Turkish government believes that the country’s 1,300 sites of thermal interest can eventually attract as many as 30 million tourists every year. This means more revenues as they will be bringing in an extra £8 billion into the economy annually. Presently, Turkey is only receiving around 10,000 visitors.

The thermal tourism project is good news for Turkey’s growing property market. The majority of international tourism and property investment attention is currently directed on the country’s Mediterranean coast. It is hoped that an aggressive government drive to promote previously unexploited and unexplored inland regions should see significant value increases around the most successful thermal sites. One of the sites, Denizli, about 200 kilometres north of Dalaman, has already attracted a joint French-Turkish venture worth around £25.6 million. According to tourism minister Attila Koc, the Pamukkale Thermal Cure Centre will eventually be open to 1,500 visitors per day.

Posted on: Turkey

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Turkey Launches Thermal Tourism Plan

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