TURKEY’S TOURISM EXPERIENCES CONTINUE TO EXPAND AND EXCITE

LUXURY HOTELS, UNCOVERED TREASURES AND HIGH-PROFILE EVENTS

New York, NY (October 19, 2009) – From seven-star hotels to five million-square-foot marinas and 700-year-old angels, Turkey’s tourism industry continues to be defined by three words: expand, expand, expand.

Given the worldwide financial situation, the growth that persists in Turkey is simply staggering, with global brands mixing with acclaimed Turkish hospitality entities to make this already alluring country even more attractive for international visitors.

Among the latest tourism developments in Turkey:

The Hotel Scene

• Star Power: Seven stars, to be exact. The Edition Hotel Istanbul will be Turkey’s first hotel expected to earn this ultra-luxurious designation that, currently, only three hotels in the world own. A massive undertaking with a price tag of nearly $150 million (100 million Euros), the 80-room property will be strictly suites and house some of the finest international dining in the world. The ambitious hotel – a joint project of Palmali Holding and Marriott Hotels and designed by Ian Schrager – will open in December 2009, just in time for Istanbul to begin its year-long celebration as a European Capital of Culture for 2010.

• Hilton Hotels Corporation is making its presence felt in Turkey with ambitious plans to open 40 properties across the country within five years, including two new hotels in Bursa, in the northwestern region – the 170-room Hilton Bursa Convention Centre & Spa and a 106-room Hampton by Hilton Bursa. The Bursa properties – which will be located adjacent to each other – are both scheduled to open in spring of 2011.

Hilton also will greatly expand its Hilton Garden Inn brand in Turkey. The brand is planning a several new properties in Turkey in the coming year, including hotels in Kutahya in the first quarter 2010 and in Konya, Mardin, Sunliurfa and the Bostanci district of Istanbul in the second quarter 2010.

• Simply Divan: Opening in October 2009 Divan Istanbul Asia will be the largest hotel on Istanbul’s Anatolia, or Asia, side. The 23-story property features 231 rooms including eight suites, nine versatile meeting rooms, a ballroom that can accommodate 500 for a banquet restaurant, a brasserie and a posh rooftop bar. The top three floors will offer exclusive, executive-level services. The hotel complex also features a sports center, indoor and outdoor swimming pools and fitness and spa facilities.

Divan, one of the largest hotel developers in Turkey, is also rebuilding the 50-year-old Divan Istanbul in Taksim, the city’s social, cultural and business center. Expected to open in 2010, the 228-room hotel also will feature two themed restaurants, the Divan Patisserie, fitness and spa facilities, spacious meeting rooms and a swimming pool.

• 118 Years Young: Originally built in 1892 for guests arriving on the legendary Orient Express from Paris, the Pera Palas in Istanbul has counted kings, queens and emperors among its guests. The historic hotel will re-open in the first quarter of 2010 after major renovations that both restored the building’s past and introduced more modern-day conveniences. The updated six-floor, 145-room property, featuring breathtaking views of the Bosphorus Strait’s Golden Horn, will offer meeting facilities accommodating up to 400 guests, an elegantly appointed main restaurant, the Orient Express Bar and the Pera Patisserie. More information: www.perapalas.com

• Eco-Luxury In Ankara: International architecture firm RMJM has partnered with Marriott to design the 24-story, 400-room J.W. Marriott Ankara, a “green hotel” in Turkey’s capital scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2010. With four floors of spacious ballrooms, meeting facilities, shops and restaurants, the unique design features vertical stone fins that serve as solar shading, glass curtain walls with environmentally friendly materials to reduce heat, and plentiful vegetation to provide additional cooling.

New Attractions and Discoveries

• Europe’s largest aquarium, the Turkuazoo Istanbul, will make its grand debut by the end of 2009 in Istanbul. The facility, home to 25,000 sea creatures including tiger sharks with whom brave visitors may actually swim, features several natural environments such as a rainforest, flooded forest and tropical sea zone. The exciting 275-foot long Marinescape SeaTube, one of the world’s longest underwater tunnels, will offer visitors a panoramic view of marine life. More information: www.turkuazoo.com

• History re-surfacing: [Back to Press Releases Main]