Holidays in Turkey - The Success Story Continues

The Turkish Tourism and Culture Office (TCCO) reports a continuing success for the country in attracting visitors. For 2010, the TCCO reveals that over 28 million visits were made to the country by international tourists, with 2.7 million of these originating from the UK - a 10% increase on the 2009 figure.

Part of this success can be attributed to the fact that Istanbul was the European Capital of Culture, thus ensuring a fillip of interest in the attractions of this unique city straddling the continents of Europe and Asia. However, it is also likely that the strength of the Euro (since diminished) in most of 2010 meant that UK visitors in particular were looking for holidays outside the Eurozone. Turkey was an obvious choice.

So - where are these UK visitors going? Well, clearly Istanbul is always important, especially for the traveller looking for a coach touring holiday. Most of these start from Istanbul, where visitors can enjoy several nights exploring the city and its major attractions - Topkapi Place, the Blue Mosque and St. Sophia amongst them. The most popular tours then take in the Aegean and Turquoise Coasts, with a focus on the 5,000 years of civilization in evidence at Troy, Priene, Didyma, Ephesus and much else besides.

However, the vast majority of travellers from the UK head directly to the Mugla region - Bodrum, Marmaris and Fethiye. This region has over 50 Blue Flag beaches, 1,100 km of coastline, a fabulous climate and a host of activities and archaeological sites. With direct flights to the region from airports all over the UK, it is no surprise that one-centre holidays are massively popular.

Close behind the Mugla region in terms of interest, is the Cappadocia region in central Anatolia. The unique landscape in this region, comprising extraordinary rock formations, along with a multitude of ancient churches carved into rock caves - plus underground cities sometimes as deep as 9 levels - has always attracted interest. The development of a solid infrastructure, boutique hotels and the chance to discover the region by hot air balloon has meant a big increase in visits in recent years. A new development is an environmentally-friendlier version of golf. Called "cross-golf", the game makes use of the dry, rocky landscapes of the region, rather than creating tailored fairways and greens.

Along with the success, of course, comes the need to maintain the quality of the holiday experience. This phase of Turkey's tourism development can be traced back to the mid 1980, where rules were already in place to control the type of building and amenities: the aim always to avoid the tower-block mentality which overtook the planners in some other destinations at the time.

As part of the drive to maintain value and interest for the discerning traveller the TCCO currently encourages the idea of Gulet (yacht) cruising. With much of Turkey's coastline accessible only by boat, a yacht cruise is an ideal way to escape crowds and discover new and less developed places.

Jimi St. Pierre writes for several Travel Companies in the UK, including Country Connect, a publisher of a daily news feed to the UK travel industry. Country Connect has a UK Tourist Office Directory, cheap flights to Turkey and airport parking at http://www.countryconnect.co.uk