President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's efforts to boost business ties with India have begun to bear their first fruits as charter flights between Turkey and India look poised to begin next year.
In the meantime, Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) is also preparing to hold its international congress this year in southwestern Turkey's Muğla, where around 650 Indian agencies are likely to participate.
Efforts to improve tourism between Turkey and India picked up the pace following Erdoğan's visit to the country this April.
Later, an initiative by the Turkish Indian Tourism Council (TITC) opened the doors to charter flights between the two countries, scheduled to launch in 2018.
According to a preliminary agreement, the charter flights will carry Indian tourists from the capital Delhi and Mumbai to Bodrum, Dalaman and Antalya once a week.
In the first year, an estimated 150,000 tourists were likely to travel to Turkey during the school holiday season in India, generally between April-May and October-November.
Meanwhile, TAFI has picked Dalaman, Muğla to hold this year's congress. The event, held in different countries every year, will involve 650 Indian travel agencies and takes place between October 24 and 31.
The program is co-organized by Dalaman, Ortaca and Köyceğiz Association of Touristic Hoteliers and Tourism Operators (DOKTOB), TITC. Turkish Airlines (THY) is the official the transportation sponsor for the event.
Aim is to reach 300,000 people
TITC Chairman Emin Çakmak said that around 22 million people travel annually from India and Turkey should look grab a bigger share of this market.
"In this context, we signed a preliminary protocol to launch charter flights from India for the first time. The flights will be made during the dead season of April-May and October-November periods," Çakmak said.
He noted that next year they are aiming to bring 150,000 Indian tourists to Turkey through charter flights alone and another 300,000 with scheduled flights.
He said that Indian tourists, staying between 7 to 15 days, spend 2,000 euros on average.
TAFI dominates 85 pct of market
Speaking of the congress in Dalaman, DOKTOB Chairman Yücel Okutur said that TAFI President Praveen Chugh, TAFI Vice President Bharat Shah, and TITC Coordinator Parmod Sahani have already visited Muğla ahead of the congress.
"TAFI controls 85 percent of India's tourism market. The fact that their congress will be held in Turkey may ultimately make a significant contribution to the number of Indian tourists coming to the country," Okutur added.
The event set to be held at the Hilton Dalaman Sarigerme Resort & Spa will be attended by approximately 1,000 people, along with 650 Indian travel agents and leading figures of Indian tourism.
DOKTOB Deputy Chairman and Hilton Dalaman General Manager Tunç Batum said that they had long been in discussion to bring this congress to Turkey. "Turkey needs more international events. We think this congress will help bring in more Indian tourists. We will see its effects in 2018," Batum said.