Prospects for foreign investment in Turkey’s burgeoning tourism and hospitality sector will be under the spotlight at the upcoming Turkey & Neighbours Hotel Investment Conference to be held in the Marmara Taksim, Istanbul.

During the last decade, foreign investment in Turkey’s tourism and hospitality industries reached record levels, averaging close to US$10 billion per year and prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is quoted as saying that the country will soon be among the top recipients of foreign direct investment, much earmarked for infrastructure improvements.

Daniel Thorniley, president of DT-Global Business Consulting GmbH, a Vienna-based consulting company that focuses on business strategy in global and emerging markets, believes the region will provide foreign investors with huge opportunities across all lodging categories.

He is a keynote speaker at CATHIC and will discuss how Turkey and its neighbours have maintained a positive outlook, creating an attractive base for foreign investment despite Europe’s economic slowdown.

Another CATHIC speaker, Ömer Isvan, president of Servotel, a Turkish-based consulting firm specialising in hospitality and real estate projects, is also optimistic about Turkey’s tourism and hospitality sectors.

“Unlike most of the top 10 tourism countries in the world – apart from China – Turkey’s natural tourist assets outside of the Antalya coast are still largely untapped,” he said.

“This provides the potential for substantial growth representing real numbers in increased traffic.

Trevor Ward, managing director of W Hospitality Group, a hospitality consulting firm based in Lagos, Nigeria, said Turkey is attracting a cross section of inbound travellers including those for including business, leisure, meetings, incentive travel, events, religious, medical, adventure and extreme sports.

“Outside of the main centres, notably Istanbul and Ankara, there are cities lacking branded hotels and therein lay investment opportunities,” he said.

CATHIC is organised by Bench Events and Questex Media, which also manages the Russia and CIS Hotel Investment Conference, Arabian Hotel Investment Conference, International Hotel Investment Forum Asia Pacific and International Hotel Investment Forum Berlin.