Published: 03/04/2013

With 130 million passengers passing through Turkey’s airports last year (2012), numbers were up by 85% on 2007 which was considered the peak of the holiday property market. Clearly the country is in growth mode and must prepare for continued substantial growth into the future.

With 130 million passengers passing through Turkey’s airports last year (2012), numbers were up by 85% on 2007 which was considered the peak of the holiday property market. Clearly the country is in growth mode and must prepare for continued substantial growth into the future.

Istanbul Ataturk airport is already running at full capacity, with some 45 million passengers in 2012. That puts it at 21st busiest in the world, measured by passenger numbers, and there is no room for expansion.

So Turkey recently announced that it plans to build the largest airport in the world in Istanbul. Not doing anything by halves, it will have an estimated capacity of 150 million passengers a year, and the anticipated building cost is around €7 billion. For comparison, the current largest in the world is Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta in the USA with 95 million passengers last year.

The project is planned in two stages. The first stage should be finished by the end of 2016 and will provide facilities for 90 million passengers a year. The company that wins the tender will have the right to operate the airport for 25 years. It’s understood that companies from Holland, France and Turkey are interested in bidding.

Once the project is completed, Istanbul will have three airports – Ataturk, Sabiha Gokcen and the new (as yet unnamed) largest-in-the-world airport.

In 2012 Turkey was ranked sixth in the world for numbers of tourists, welcoming around 30 million people. This year it is expecting considerable growth in the number of visitors from India, and is anticipating a 30% rise in volume. Last year around 90,000 Indians visited Turkey – an increase of 24% compared to 2011.

Turkish Airlines wants to double the number of flights between New Delhi and Istanbul as well as Mumbai and Istanbul.

External Article Link: http://www.turkeypropertyplus.com/news/?id=411

Article Link: http://www.turkeypropertyplus.com/news/?id=411

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