Turkey becomes a new tourism destination. According to Turkey Ministry of culture and tourism, over 23 million foreigners visited Turkey in 2007, that is 17.77 % more compared to 2006. During the 8th month of 2008, over 18.5 million foreigners visited the country. With rich history, perfect climate, long coastline and mountainous landscapes the country may offer great alternative to Mediterranean countries such as Italy or Spain.

 

Country details

Area: 780,580 square kilometers Population: 71,892,808 (July 2008 est.) Capital city: Ankara, with 4,466,756 inhabitants (according to Turkish statistical institute, 2007 census). Larger cities: Istanbul - 12,573,836 inhabitants, Izmir - 3,739,353 inhabitants, Bursa - 2,439,876 inhabitants, Adana - 2,006,650 inhabitants, according to Turkish statistical institute, 2007 census. International airports: 7 (Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Dalaman, Istanbul, Izmir, Trabzon). Getting there: European airlines fly directly year round into Turkey. Monetary unit: Turkish lira YTL (TRY). 1 TRY = 0.67 USD, 1 TRY = 0.50 EUR (2008 October).

Relief: Turkey's varied landscapes are the product of complex earth movements that have shaped the region over thousands of years and still manifest themselves in fairly frequent earthquakes and occasional volcanic eruptions. Highest point in Turkey – Mount Ararat 5,166 meters. Water resources: Turkey is bordering the Black Sea, Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The coastline ranges along 7,200 kilometers. The largest lake in Turkey is Lake Van, that takes a 3,713 sq. kilometers. Climate: temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior.

 

Location

Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria.

 

Country profile

The Republic of Turkey is home to more that 70 million residents, according to 2008 estimates from the CIA World Factbook. The population was growing at a rate of 1.013 % per year. The majority of country’s residents are Turkish (80 %). The main religion is Muslim (99.8 %) and country’s official language is Turkish.

The government of Turkey is a republican parliamentary democracy. The president of the republic serves as the chief of state and is elected by the National Assembly for a seven-year term. The prime minister is the acting head of government, and is appointed by the president from among the members of parliament, according to the CIA World Factbook. Abdullah Gul is Turkey’s president and Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the current prime minister. The country is divided into 81 administrative provinces, and the national capital is Ankara with approximately 4 million inhabitants.

 

Turkey's economy

Turkey is enjoying the longest period of uninterrupted economic growth in its history. Turkey’s GDP is $663 billion, making it the 17th largest economy and the 6th largest in the European economic area. GDP growth has averaged 7.4% per year since 2002. In 2007 GDP growth was lower - 4.5 % and in the first quarter in 2008 – 6.6 %. Turkey's economy is no longer dominated by traditional agricultural activities in the rural areas, but more so by a highly dynamic industrial complex in the major cities, mostly concentrated in the western provinces of the country, along with a developed services sector. Services account for the largest percentage of GDP (62.8 %), while industry accounts 28.3 % and agriculture – 8.9 %.

The tourism sector has experienced rapid growth in the last years, constituting an important part of the economy. In 2007, there were visitors to the country, who contributed 18.5 billion USD to Turkey's revenues.

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Real estate market

The tourism popularity in the country resulted holidaymakers' attention to the Turkish property. Many foreigners are buying properties in Turkey for their holidays or for the retirement, particularly along the Aegean and Mediterranean coast, as well as in some major cities such as Istanbul and Izmir.

Usually, Turkey is called the investment hot spot as it is working towards EU membership and experiencing numbers of tourists (over 18.5 million visitors has already com during first 8th months in 2008).

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Purchasing real estate

Purchasing real estate in Turkey is not complicated, although there are certain rules to follow. The conditions of real estate acquisition for foreign persons should comply with the legal restrictions stipulated in Turkish Legislation; and the total area of real estate acquisition and limited real rights on real estates by a foreign real person in Turkey cannot exceed 25.000 sq. km within the entire country.

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Potential problems

Political instability might mess Turkey's attractiveness for investments as the religion based conflicts can cause turmoil and have a negatively influence on EU membership. Surely, this would affect country's economic prospects as well.

Recently, high inflation rate seems to be a problem in Turkey. Higher inflation will likely lead to the shuttering of more businesses dragging the economy down even further.

Another problem is seismic zones, which go through Turkey, so when selecting property for purchase it is recommended to research earthquake history in the region and try to avoid areas with large amount of seismic activity as well as take care of earthquake insurance for the property.