A USD3bn slice of the Chinese Tourism Cake
The series of reports under the heading of 'TSKB's Perspective', prepared by the TSKB Economic Research department, continues with a report on the Turkish tourism sector. The report entitled "Tourism: All Over Again", which discusses the current state of the tourism sector and the opportunities facing the sector, which has a significant impact on Turkey's GDP, highlights the importance of diversifying the tourism sector and also examines the potential in the Chinese market.
Tourism industry employs more than 2 million people in Turkey. It directly contributed 3.8% to GDP in the last year, and 11.6% indirectly. The industry has gradually strengthened its position in the economy since the 1980s and emerged as a strong supporting force in the balance of payments since the mid-1990s. The growth of the tourism industry has not only contributed to the country's economy but also Turkey's brand value.
The report entitled "Tourism: All Over Again", prepared by the TSKB Economic Research department, takes an in-depth look at Turkey's tourism sector and seeks an answer to the question of "Tourism: But how?". The report emphasizes that developing relations with China, in addition to health, gastronomy and domestic tourism, could serve as a sustainable and healthy model in tourism. The report also provides information regarding the Action Plan on China, which aims to attract Chinese tourists to Turkey, with the following statements: "Turkey's average income per capita from Chinese tourists could approach the European average if we can prepare experiential touristic content focusing on culture, the arts and gastronomy. If realized, the goal of one million Chinese tourists by 2023, which is frequently mentioned by sector players, would mean a tourism economy worth about $3 billion."
The contribution to the sustainability of growth
Prepared by Buket Alkan and Cem Avcıoğlu, the report refers to a correlation between GDP and tourism, displaying in figures the contribution tourism makes to GDP.
The report highlights that the number of global tourists rose from just 25 million in 1950 to 1.3 billion last year, citing 2017 as the strongest year in the last decade, with growth of 6.7%. Furthermore, the report underlines that the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) expects the number of global tourists to reach 1.8 billion by 2030, while Turkey hosted a total of 38 million tourists in 2017. The report specifies that such figures place Turkey the 10th most popular tourist destination in the world, and explains the tourism industry’s strong support to the country's economy as follows: "In 2017, the tourism industry contributed 3.8% to GDP directly, and 11.6% indirectly. The total economic activity created by the sector keeps 2.1 million people in work. In addition, the tourism sector intermediates in the channeling of foreign savings into the country's economy, thus contributing to sustainable growth."
Number of global travelers on course to increase
The report also highlights an expected 4 to 5 per cent increase in the number of global tourists in 2018 by the UNWTO, underlining the significance of such an increase against a backdrop of global uncertainties.
The report states that an analysis of regional tourist distribution points out to a shift from European and American tourists to tourists from the Asia Pacific region. "A breakdown of the total number of tourists since 1980 finds that the share of tourists coming from Africa and the Middle East varies from between 3 percent and 6 percent. However, the Asia Pacific has increased its share from 8 percent to 25 percent over the same period. According to UNWTO projections, this trend will continue up until 2030." The report stresses that it unleashing China's international foreign tourism potential has been the main factor behind this interregional shift. "China ranked fourth in international tourism expenditures, spending USD 55 billion in 2010, before rising to the number one position in 2017 with USD 258 billion of expenditure."
Chinese tourists now account for 20 per cent of the world's tourism expenditures
China has consistently been the biggest spending country in tourism since 2012. Last year, the number of Chinese tourists visiting foreign countries reached 135 million. The report underlines that China currently accounts for 20% of global tourism expenditures.
The report underlines the number of Chinese tourists visiting Turkey has increased gradually throughout the last decade. "In 2015, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Turkey increased to 314,000 thanks to the entry point visa regime. The implementation of special tourism policies for this country could be useful in achieving further growth in this figure. Currently, countries such as Australia, Canada, Singapore and South Korea issue 10-year visas for Chinese tourists. In addition, 67 countries allow entry by visa free entry or visas on entry to Chinese citizens."
The report also provides information on the Action Plan on China, which aims to attract Chinese tourists to Turkey, with the following statements: "Turkey's average income per capita from Chinese tourists could approach the European average if experiential touristic content focusing on culture, the arts and gastronomy can be prepared. If realized, the goal of one million Chinese tourists by 2023, which is frequently mentioned by sector players, would mean a tourism economy worth about $3 billion."
"It could be a major step in increasing women's employment"
The report considers employment opportunities in the tourism industry as a key opportunity to overcome the bottleneck facing women's employment in Turkey. "Unlike many other sectors, tourism does not allow a shift to mechanical or automated services. The sector is permanently labor-intensive, and bears the potential to trigger many other fields including transport, entertainment and retail. Such a major aspect of the sector offers an opportunity to raise women's participation in the labor force, which currently stands as a major obstacle to Turkey's development. Women account for 32.1 percent of total employees in tourism and related sectors - 4.9 points higher than non-tourism sectors."
The complete version of the report titled "Tourism: All Over Again" by TSKB Economic Research is available here.
