131 hotel projects got investment incentive certificate that worth 17 billion Turkish Lira (TL) in 6 months of the year according to report released by Türkiye Hoteliers Association (TÜROB). When the new hotels are completed, 23,715 beds will be added to Türkiye's hotel bed stock.
During the same period of last year, applications for 75 hotel projects (14.413 beds) totaling 7.5 billion TL were made.
Despite a decrease in occupancy rates for various reasons this year, hotel investments are still making a robust return. Müberra Eresin, President of TÜROB, stated that hotel investments have become one of the most attractive areas for investors in 2022 and the first 6 months of this year.
Creating 7,000 new jobs
The report also highlighted that approximately 7,000 new jobs would be created once the investments are completed. Additionally, it was noted that renewal applications worth 6.1 billion TL were made for 82 hotels in the first 6 months of this year.
"Antalya and Istanbul receiving the most investments and we don't desire it"
Müberra Eresin pointed out that the accommodation sector in Türkiye has always been attractive for investors. She stated, "The strong increase in investments is indicative of this situation. It's not surprising that not only domestic but also foreign investors are making efforts to be part of this attractive sector. Even during a period when the pandemic had negative effects on the industry and investments were postponed in many areas, investors continued to work on completing hotel projects initiated in 2020 and before. This can be seen as an indicator of investors' hope and confidence in the sector.
Investments should spread to Anatolia
While we appreciate the investments made in the sector, it's not our preferred situation that tourism centers like Antalya and Istanbul still receive the highest demand for investments. For the sustainability of tourism, we maintain our view that investments should be spread across all of Anatolia, and we believe that extra incentives should be provided for investments made in Anatolia if necessary."
"Incentives for three-star hotels should be made more attractive"
In 2023, among the hotels that received investment certificates, 5-star hotels ranked first with 10,964 beds in terms of capacity, according to Eresin. She stated, "In terms of the number of hotels, the highest number of applications was for 4-star hotels with 45 projects. 3-star projects came in third place with 44 hotels. We see that investments in 5-star facilities are predominant in terms of capacity. Considering increased costs and selling prices in other competing countries that are influential in the tourism sector, there is also a need for other classes to be considered. For example, we believe that incentives for 3-star hotel investments should also be made more attractive."
Istanbul at the top, Trabzon pushing into the top 3 again
Meanwhile, during the January-June 2023 period, Istanbul once again took the top spot in new investments, followed by Antalya in second place. In terms of project numbers, Istanbul was first with 28 projects, Antalya was second with 18 projects, and Muğla was third with 10 projects. It's observed that investments are picking up again in the Black Sea region. Trabzon, which is the most attractive province for investments in the region, ranked fourth with 8 projects, while Van came in fifth with 7 projects.
