With the increase in the number of tourists, purchases by foreigners in Istanbul stores have increased by up to 70 percent.
Regarding the issue, a professional in the retail sector said, "Istanbul's tourist profile triggers the appetite of the retail sector. In recent years, we witnessed the withdrawal of some brands from Turkey. Now the brand interest in Istanbul has started again.”
Istanbul is expected to host more tourists than its population for the first time in its history this year. While the number of tourists increases the performance of the retail sector, brands that preferred to exit the Turkish market for a while or chose to downsize their operations now turn their route back to Istanbul.
The Deputy General Manager of “Galataport Asset Management and Leasing” stated that Istanbul was now an indispensable stop for Middle Eastern tourists, and recently, with the addition of Russian and Ukrainian tourists, foreign purchases had started to make up a significant part of the revenues of retail stores. He said, "Many tourists are also expected from China this year. Such a tourist profile also triggers the retail sector's appetite.”
He went on to say the following; “In the past years, we witnessed that brands were gradually leaving Turkey. Now we see that they are showing interest in this market again. Brands are making a comeback with local partners and big Turkish partners in the first place. We are receiving news of major retail groups meeting with foreign brands. In time, they will start opening their own offices again.”
THE FOREIGN SHARE IS RISING
He stated that these groups were doing location research for different brands adding, “They are also asking us for locations. Currently, there are about 50 brands waiting for a place to enter Galataport. We are also in talks with 2 foreign brands that will enter the Turkish market with Galataport for the first time, and we have already reached the final stage.”
The same professional said, ‘We see that the share of tourists in the total sales of brands is at a minimum of 40-50 percent; in some brands, this ratio has increased to 60-70 percent. That's why brands are generally happy. Some want to grow their square meters. The buyer potential and the cake are growing.”
THE TARGET FOR 2024 IS 25 MILLION VISITORS
He said, "Galataport hosted 13.5 million visitors in the first year. In 2024, our third year, our target is 25 million visitors, including 7 million foreign tourists. We expect 1.5 million of these 7 million from cruise passengers. We also plan to host approximately 200 hours and 500 thousand passengers and crew by the end of this year. Our ultimate goal is to bring one of every two tourists who come to Istanbul to Galataport.”
