Despite some difficulties in Turkey's tourism sector over the last two years, the appetite for investment in the accommodation sector continued to soar in the first six months of 2017.

A recent survey by Turkish Hoteliers Association (TÜROB) found that in the first half of this year some 101 hotels in Turkey's 38 provinces, with a combined capacity of 16,000 beds, received incentive certificates for investments up to TL 1.7 billion ($0.5 billion), registering a 13.5-percent increase in value.

The survey, based on Ministry of the Economy's "Investment Incentive Certificates" data, also showed that though the number of beds in the first half of 2017 declined, compared to the same period of 2016, the investment amount increased due to high-capacity facilities.

TÜROB revealed that during the first half of 2016, incentive application totaling to some TL 1.5 billion was made for 94 hotel projects, which had a combined capacity of 19,124 beds. In comparison, the first half of this year has seen a 13.5 percent increase in terms of monetary investment.

The figures, however, were still trailing those of 2014, which saw record TL 2.8 billion worth of investments in the first six months

In June 2016, eight hotel projects, with 1,385 beds in seven provinces, applied for TL 92.3 million in incentives. In June 2017, the total amount of incentive for 13 hotels with 2,379 beds rose to TL 268 million.

In the accommodation sector, the leading provinces in the first half of the year were Antalya, Istanbul, İzmir, and Muğla, with nine hotel projects receiving incentives in each province, TÜROB confirmed. In terms of bed capacity, Antalya had the largest share with 2,390 beds.

Meanwhile, a surge of investments in the Black Sea region, especially in Trabzon, was also noteworthy. After President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently pointed out the irregular construction in the region, a drive in hotel investments has been observed. The province has seen great interest from tourists from the Gulf countries.

In the first six months of this year, seven hotel projects in Trabzon totaling to TL 100 million ($28.3 million) applied for incentives. Earlier last year, 12 hotels with 1,451 beds in Trabzon, received some TL 86 million ($24.36 million). In the meantime, another 19 hotel projects were kicked off in the city over the last one-and-a-half years. One hotel each in Ordu, Rize, and Samsun also received incentives in the first half of this year.TÜROB Chairman Timur Bayındır pointed out the increasing number of tourists from the Gulf region as the key reason behind investments in the Black Sea region but warned that the investments should be made in a controlled manner.