New flights to give Turkish property a lift

New flights to Turkey are set to give the country's property market a lift this year.

New summer flights will launch this April, from London to south-west Turkey, which will make beach resorts there more accessible to British tourists. Agents say that this will boost awareness of Turkish property, as well as encourage interest.

The country is already popular as a holiday destination. Indeed, 36.8 million foreigners visited Turkey in 2014 and they spent an average of 5.7 per cent more than five years ago. At the same time, house sales have also increased, with transactions climbing 16.3 per cent in December 2014 year-on-year.

Istanbul is already established as a hotspot for international visitors. Trip Advisor recently ranked it among the Top 25 World Destinations, highlighting its ancient architecture and modern restaurants and nightlife.

Adil Yaman, director of Universal 21, says that its reputation as a renowned transcontinental city has produced "great opportunities for people investing in the local property market... from studio, one or two bed apartments, through to large, exclusive detached villas".

"With growing tourist numbers and greater development in the property market already being recorded this year, it is clear that 2015 is going to build, further still, on this enviable reputation and we look forward to what it will bring for Universal 21 and our clients," he adds.

This year's new flights, though, will be serving Turkey's other go-to destination. British Airways, who already serve Istanbul and Izmir, will introduce routes from London Gatwick to Bodrum and Dalaman from April to October 2015. The Bodrum service will fly on Mondays and Thursdays, while the Dalaman route will fly on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. 

 

"That BA has decided to fly to Dalaman and Bodrum, which act as gateways to a number of resorts, is a shot in the arm for this increasingly popular corner of the Mediterranean," says Julian Walker, director at Spot Blue International Property.

"Easyjet, Monarch, ThomasCook and Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus are among airlines that already fly to these airports, but adding BA is the icing on the cake and shows the positive effect that Bodrum's smart new terminal, which opened in 2012, is having. And for holiday homeowners that offer rentals, it means guests travelling to their property have a greater choice of flights, increasing the overall rentability of their home."