Why is Now the Time to Buy in Turkey?
By Paul Burrows
Turkey is a paradise of sun, sea, mountains, and lakes that offers the
vacationer a complete change from the stress and routine of everyday
life. From April to October, most places in Turkey have an ideal climate
that is perfect for relaxing on sandy beaches or enjoying the
tranquility of mountains and lakes.
Turkey also has a magnificent past, and is a land full of historic
treasures from 13 successive civilizations spanning 10,000 years. Even
if you spend only a short time in Turkey, you can see a lot of this
great heritage.
There is no doubt that one visit will not be enough, and you will want
to come back again and again as you discover one extraordinary place
after another. All of them, no matter how different, have one thing in
common: the friendly and hospitable people of this unique country.
Real Estate Agents who once worked Spain are now turning their future
business plans to Turkey, with the figures so high in Spain of 1.5
million homes sold in the last 10 years, prices soaring and cashflow and
re-sales on a downturn, Turkey has sold only to date a mere 90,000
homes.
With those figures in mind it doesnt take much to figure out the
potential growth for Turkey.
Turkey has provided big advantage to the investors since it is a growing
market and has friendly environment with one-stop investment
opportunity. In the year 2002 its market share is 1.7 by visited 13.2
million tourist and generated 8.5 million revenue. Those figures were
recorded 5% higher for 2003.
According to World Tourism Organization Turkey will be the fastest
growing country in tourism demands with an annual rate of %10.
As it has been ranked in the world first fifteen destination by 14
million visitors a year Turkey has tried to offer different projects to
have developed its accommodation facilities and tourism kinds. In order
to diversify the tourism product Turkey has promoted the sites located
inland areas to those having different taste than 3S (sea, sand and sun)
combination and coastal region as well. Currently, tourism activities in
the country are concentrated along Aegean and Mediterranean coasts where
about 80% of Turkey’s bed capacity exists. However investments have been
made on accommodations are not sufficient to correspond the future
tourism demands that will be directed to Turkey, therefore Turkey has a
strong desire to attract both the national and international investors
particularly in the regions mostly visited.
IF you are Planning a Trip to Turkey:
USA - CITIZENS ONLY
A visa is required for all U.S. citizens entering Turkey. U.S. citizens
may obtain their visas upon entry at any point in Turkey or in advance
from one of the Turkish Consulates around the U.S. Please see the
Jurisdiction list of the Turkish Consulates for your state. Application
for a business visa must be done ahead of time, before entering Turkey.
The tourist visa is valid for a year starting from the issue date. There
are two different visa types. With a single entry visa, you can enter
Turkey only once and stay up to three months. Multiple entry visa, on
the other hand allows you to enter and exit the country more than once
within one year period specified on your passport and you can stay in
Turkey for three months each time.
Visas given at entry points are valid only for three months. Therefore,
visas must be obtained in advance for visits lasting longer stays and
for study, research or employment purposes.
The passengers who do not leave the international airports do not need
any visas
NON-U.S. CITIZENS
Non-U.S Citizens need to have to apply for their tourist or business
visas in advance BEFORE going to Turkey. Applicants should directly
contact a Turkish Consulate in person, by mail or by a courier service.
Please see the Jurisdiction list of the Turkish Consulates for your
state.
CANADA
Canadian Citizens can obtain a multiple-entry sticker visa at the
Turkish International Border Gates to stay in Turkey for a maximum
period of three months. If the planned stay exceeds three months or the
individual intends to study, work or be engaged in any kind of gainful
employment in Turkey, visa must be obtained in advance by applying
personally to Turkish Embassy in Ottawa.
Is it safe to travel to Turkey?
Turkey is one of the safest countries in the world in which to travel,
because its rate of crime is relatively low in comparison to many
Western European countries. A few years ago, Interpol, the well-known
international police association, ranked Turkey as the safest holiday
destination in Europe for travelers. Naturally, we recommend that
travelers to Turkey exercise the same precautions as anywhere else, and
be aware of security concerns that affect all international travelers.
The Turkish Government takes air safety very seriously, and maintains
strict controls, particularly on international flights. The U.S. Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) has assessed the government of Turkey's
civil aviation authority as Category 1-in compliance with international
aviation safety standards for oversight of Turkey's air carrier
operations. In the days following the September 11 attacks, Turkish
Airlines became one of the first international airlines cleared by the
FAA for flights into the United States.