Turkey is becoming a haven for hotel operators, with Rotana Hotels and Viceroy Hotel Group this week both revealing projects for the country.
Rotana has just signed an agreement to manage a new resort in Iskenderun, in the south of the country.
"This is going to be our first hotel in Turkey, but we are in serious negotiations with three or four different developers in different parts of Turkey, one of which is Istanbul," said Selim El Zyr, the president and chief executive of Rotana Hotels, which is based in Abu Dhabi.
The resort, on which design work has started, is expected to open in about three years. The property is being built by a Turkish developer.
"We have worked hard to get into Turkey. It's a big market and a very cosmopolitan market. For us it's going out of the Middle East and Africa region," said Mr El Zyr, who declined to say how much the development would cost.
Viceroy, which is 50 per cent owned by Mubadala Development, a strategic investment company owned by the Abu Dhabi Government, yesterday announced plans to open a five-star hotel in Istanbul towards the end of next year in a historic property. The hotel, which will have views of the Bosphorus, will consist of 10 buildings on 16 acres. "It's the opening of the market I feel. It's become more attractive," said Anton Bawab, the regional president of Viceroy Hotel Group. "I give a lot of credit to Turkish Airlines. The network has become phenomenally strong. The Arab Spring has had some impact.
"Traditionally, people who would seek beach destinations in Egypt, elsewhere in the region, are now going to Turkey," he added, declining to say how much the development would cost.
The direct contribution of travel and tourism to Turkey's economy was 55.1 billion Turkish lira (Dh114.97bn) or 4.3 per cent of its total GDP last year, according to figures from the World Travel and Tourism Council. This contribution is forecast to rise by 1.7 per cent this year, and to grow by 2.9 per cent a year over the next decade to 74.4bn lira in 2022.
Dubai's Jumeirah Group recently announced that it would operate the historic Pera Palace hotel in Istanbul, a property that accommodated tourists travelling on the Orient Express and that counted the authors Agatha Christie and Ernest Hemingway among its guests.
"Stability in the politics has carried Turkey to a certain point and the changes in the law have encouraged foreign investors to come to Turkey," said Serkan Gocmen, the chief executive of Nef Bebekoy, the developer of the Viceroy hotel in Istanbul.
"We believe that the market will boom. In exhibition times in Istanbul you still cannot find any rooms. I believe that there's demand."
Viceroy also has an agreement to manage a hotel that is under development in Bodrum in Turkey and scheduled to open in 2014.
Mr Bawab said that Viceroy was hoping to grow in the region, with Oman, Qatar and Lebanon among the countries on its radar.
"The countries that have had political instability, development has slowed down, so we're not spending a lot of time," he said.
Rotana said it was also close to reaching agreements in Mauritania and the Maldives. It has also signed up to operate a hotel in Sulaymaniyah in Iraq.
rbundhun@thenational.ae
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
SHAITTAN
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Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULT
Manchester United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Man United: Sanchez (24' ), Herrera (62')
Spurs: Alli (11')
IF YOU GO
The flights: FlyDubai offers direct flights to Catania Airport from Dubai International Terminal 2 daily with return fares starting from Dh1,895.
The details: Access to the 2,900-metre elevation point at Mount Etna by cable car and 4x4 transport vehicle cost around €57.50 (Dh248) per adult. Entry into Teatro Greco costs €10 (Dh43). For more go to www.visitsicily.info
Where to stay: Hilton Giardini Naxos offers beachfront access and accessible to Taormina and Mount Etna. Rooms start from around €130 (Dh561) per night, including taxes.
How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Army of the Dead
Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera
Three stars
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
more from Janine di Giovanni
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5