Turkey hosts ‘Night of the Year’ for Europe’s Tourism Industry

Europe's top destinations and leading travel companies will gather under one roof on Friday 1 October at the Rixos Premium Belek, Antalya, Turkey.
All will be hoping to walk away with the most sought-after achievement in the travel and tourism industry - the World Travel Awards Europe Gala Ceremony trophies.
The awards, described by the Wall Street Journal as the ‘Oscars' of the global travel and tourism industry, has helped improve quality, value and customer service over the past 17 years.
Nominees include some of the most respected and successful travel names in the business including Europcar, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, Hilton Hotels, Lufthansa, Hertz, Mardan Palace, Tui Travel, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, and The Rocco Forte Collection.
The evening, attended by the region's major company CEO's, tourist board chiefs, association leaders and Government Ministers is set to be a spectacular affair. Focus on Travel News, one of the media partners of the event, will also follow the award ceremony in Antalya.
Entertainment for the evening comes in the form of the world-famous ‘Fire of Anatolia' dance act. This stunning cast of 45 dancers step, stomp and swirl to traditional folk music from the Black Sea to the Balkans. Traditional Turkish dancing with a collaboration of ballet and modern dance, the performance is backed by swirling Turkish music and drumming. Fire of Anatolia also holds the Guiness World Record for the fastest dance performance with 241 steps per minute.
Hosting the event is Seda Akgul, a familiar face on Turkish TV including TV8. Other entertainment on the night includes The Magic Drifters.
European nominees are among 5,000 nominated companies across more than a 1,000 categories, including airlines, cruise companies, destinations, resorts and hotels in 162 countries.
The highly contended title for Europe's Leading Airline sees Air France, Alitalia, British Airways, Iberia, KLM, Lufthansa, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Swiss International Airlines, TAP Portugal and Turkish Airlines fighting it out for the coveted title.
Meanwhile, competition is rife among the countries up for Europe's Leading Destination. The contenders are Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Crete, Dublin, Dubrovnik, Istanbul, Lisbon, London, Pafos, Paris, Prague, Rome, Tallinn, Venice, Vienna and Vilnuis. Italy has the highest odds being the only country to have two destinations nominated.
Going head to head for the title of Europe's Leading Marketing Campaign are: Expedia.com, "Where you book matters"; Spanish Institute of Tourism, "Spain, a country to share"; STA Travel, iPhone campaign; The Hans Brinker Budget Hotel Amsterdam, "The Worst Hotel in the World"; Thomas Cook, 2010 Marketing Campaign; Visit London, "Only in London"; Visit Denmark & Expedia, Joint Campaign and Yorkshire.com, "Welcome to Yorkshire".
But it's the struggle between hotels, large and small, that are likely to see the fiercest competition.
Battling it out for the highly sought after title of Europe's Leading Hotel are Aquapura Douro Valley, Portugal; Castel Monastero, Italy; Ciragan Palace Kempinski, Istanbul, Turkey; Donbass Palace Hotel, Ukraine; Dubrovnik Palace Hotel Conference Centre & Spa, Croatia; Grand Hotel Lienz, Austria; Hotel Le Bristol Paris, France; Hotel Ritz Paris, France; Lešić Dimitri Palace, Croatia; The Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt, Ireland and White Pod, Switzerland.
Leading the way in hotel sustainability, the following nominees are all eager to gain the coveted title of Europe's Leading Green Hotel: Apex City of London, England; AquaCity Poprad, Slovakia; Ariston Hotel, Italy; Bedruthan Steps Hotel, England; Chateau Mcely, Czech Republic; Choupana Hills Resort & Spa, Madeira; Hotel FOX, Denmark; Ice Hotel, Sweden; Kolarbyn Eco-Lodge, Sweden; Radisson SAS Hotel, Edinburgh, Scotland and Strattons, England.
In addition to overall Europe categories, there are awards for 57 countries including: Andorra, Belgium, England, France, Greece, Iceland, Monaco, Poland, Slovakia, Turkey and more.
Travel industry professionals throughout the world have been voting online for their preferred companies and organisations during the past four months. Voting has now closed and votes counted ready for the big night.
Consumers increasingly use the list of winners as a reliable guide and means of reassurance when choosing their holiday. Companies and destinations that finish up on the winners podium, receive extensive commercial benefits and global profile.
For a full list of nominees for Europe log on to http://www.worldtravelawards.com/nominees.
Rixos Premium Belek, the leading resort hotel in Belek's Ileribasi district will be hosting the event. Main sponsors include Turkish Airlines and World Mobi.
Winners of the Europe Gala Ceremony go through to the final of the World Travel Awards in London on Sunday 7th November, immediately prior to World Travel Market.

Turkey Voted Favorite Country

Published by Ozgur Tore

Thursday, 02 September 2010

Turkey has been chosen by Condé Nast Traveller readers as their favourite country in the Destination category at the Condé Nast Traveller 12th Annual Readers' Travel Awards for the first time. Turkey's popularity also ensures a spot in prestigious The World's Top 100 list too where it was voted number 2 overall. Istanbul, European Capital of Culture 2010 also scored highly; Istanbul was voted in the top 10 in the Overseas Cities category (5th place), with top marks for people/hospitality. The city is also home to some of the readers' favourite hotels; as the Ciragan Palace Kempinski was voted in 6th place and The Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmet, 13th place, in the Category of Overseas Leisure Hotels. The Ritz Carlton, Istanbul also secured 8th spot in the Overseas Business Hotels category. Director of the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office UK Irfan Onal expressed his delight at winning the award: "We are thrilled that Turkey has won this prestigious award, which is even more meaningful given that it is chosen by the readers themselves. This is the highlight in what has been a very successful year as the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office UK. Indeed, visitor numbers from the UK continue their spectacular rise, with year-on-year figures up 15.5% for the first 7 months of this year." The Country award was received by Turkish Ambassador H.E Mr. Unal Cevikoz. Also attending the award was The Ambassador's wife Mrs. Emel Cevikoz, Director of the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office, Mr. Irfan Onal and Deputy Director, Dr. Aysegul Gurgezoglu. http://www.ftnnews.com/content/view/10242/33/

Turkey's Best Beaches

Here are Turkey's top 10 beaches, with nearest big town (in parentheses). Some even rate the coveted Blue Flag for cleanliness.

Important note: most Turkish beaches do not have lifeguards, but some do occasionally have dangerous riptide and undertow conditions. Swim at your own risk, don't swim alone, and make some plan for what to do if disaster strikes.

1. Patara (Fethiye): 50 meters/yards wide and 20 km (12.5 miles) long, this beach 75 km (47 miles) south of Fethiye is Turkey's finest. Accommodations—and shade—are limited, though. (Big photo)

2. Ölüdeniz (Fethiye): Very fine, with good hotels, restaurants and bars, but because it's Turkey's most famous, it can get crowded. (Big photos)

3. Olimpos (Antalya): The opposite of the others: small, secluded, atmospheric, backed by a forest filled with Roman ruins. 79 km (49 miles) southwest of Antalya (map).

4. Side (Antalya): The once-idyllic village 65 km (40 miles) east of Antalya is now crowded and noisy, but the beaches are still fine and unspoiled. Roman ruins abound (map).

5. Alanya: The town (115 km/72 miles east of Antalya) is busy and crowded, but the beaches are so long (22 km/14 miles to the east) that there's plenty of sand for everyone. Great Seljuk castle, too (map).

6. Iztuzu (Dalyan): Good beach, with or w/o logger-head turtles. The town, 8 km (5 miles) NW of Dalaman Airport, the river, cliff tombs and Caunos ruins are a nice bonus.

7. Bodrum Peninsula: Beaches in the towns are not great, but good smaller ones abound: Ortakent Yalisi (coarse sand & pebble), Turgutreis (surfy), and gem-like Gümüslük (map).

8. Kemer (Antalya): Very mod-resorty, but near a lot of interesting day-trip possibilities (map).

9. Pamucak (Ephesus): Big, broad, dark sand, only 7 km (4 miles) west of Ephesus, relatively clean with a few cig butts and bottlecaps (map). (Big photo)

10. Çalış (Fethiye): Long beach near the city cradling yacht-happy Fethiye Bay, good but somehow un-charming, and famous Ölüdeniz is just 10 km (6 miles) away over the hills.

HONORABLE MENTION:

Kızkalesi (Silifke): Known only to Turks and savvy foreigners, the beach is sort of small but the castle out at sea makes up for it.

Sinop: Nice beaches, never crowded, because the Black Sea water is usually pretty chilly.

Kuşadası (Ephesus): Nice enough beaches, but small and very crowded (map).

Antalya: Big, l-o-n-g pebble/coarse sand beach using the Blue Flag System to certify cleanliness (map).

Samandağı (Antakya): W-a-y down near Syria (26 km/16 miles) southwest of Antakya, but has a trash problem.

Anamur (Alanya): Good beach that only Turks seem to know about. Interesting Byzantine ghost town nearby.

BEACH SAFETY:

Note that few Turkish beaches have lifeguards! Be careful of the surf, and prepared to save yourself.