Evaluating 2023 and announcing their 2024 targets, Sinan Köseoğlu, Vice President of Turkey Operations of accor Group which has more than 5,500 hotels in more than 110 countries and 68 hotels in Turkey, gave information about their investment strategies in Turkey and the region and announced that they are planning 14 hotels until the end of 2024.
Stating that Accor's presence in Turkey demonstrates its commitment to offering a variety of accommodation options to suit the needs and preferences of travellers in the country, Köseoğlu said that they evaluate factors such as market demand and trends for tourism in Turkey, the number of international visitors, the growth of domestic tourism and the potential for long-term accommodation:
''We are planning to invest in 14 hotels in Turkey in the first stage until the end of 2024 and we aim to complete the number of hotels in Turkey to 100 within 5 years. This includes expanding our existing hotels and resorts, as well as bringing new brands such as Handwritten Collection under our umbrella and expanding our brands under the Ibis Hotel family. We have 30 more brands that have yet to come to Turkey and 30 more that could come to Turkey.''
Stating that they have realised important investments such as Swissotel Çeşme Resort and Spa, Swissotel Uludağ Bursa and Mövenpick Diyarbakır, Köseoğlu said that they hosted a total of 1 million 930 thousand guests in hotels in Turkey in 2023 and continued as follows:
''Of this figure, 40 per cent were domestic and 60 per cent were foreign guests. Domestic tourists preferred our hotels because of their interest in tourism activities and the increase in domestic tourism. Foreign guests are attracted to Turkey's rich history, cultural heritage, natural beauties, beaches, gastronomy and touristic activities. In addition, increasing the quality of hotels and accommodation facilities and improving service standards also stand out as factors affecting the preferences of foreign guests. The advantage of our country is that it is suitable for various tourism activities. In addition, the hospitality of Turks and their skills in their relations are also an advantage in the hospitality sector. Looking ahead to 2024, the future of Turkey's tourism sector looks positive. With Turkey's efforts to attract more travellers and investments in infrastructure development, the sector is expected to develop.''
Explaining that they foresee that environmentally sensitive facilities and touristic activities will increase with the importance given to the concept of sustainable tourism, Köseoğlu underlined that camping tourism and tiny house accommodation can open a new door in the sector, and said that Accor has brands developed in this field and that with the development of technology, technologies such as smart phones, virtual reality, augmented reality will enrich the travel experience of tourists and enable them to discover destinations interactively.