Walter Finch
SPAIN has started to fall in love with Turkey this year due to the popularity of Turkish TV series and health tourism.
This love affair has been brought about by Turkish TV series such as “Ertugrul,” which have gained widespread popularity in Spain and are now the most-watched shows on Spanish television.
In fact, Turkish Airlines’ General Manager in Madrid, Numan Cizmecioglu, stated that they have received a lot of questions from Spanish travellers asking about the locations where the series are filmed and whether they can visit these places.
Some tourism agencies have even started offering trips to these locations.
In addition to the popularity of Turkish TV series, health tourism has also contributed to Turkey’s growing popularity among Spaniards.
Cizmecioglu mentioned that the Turkish market for hair transplants has particularly become popular among Spanish people.
However, as more Spaniards visit Turkey for health purposes, this trend has also led to an increase in demand for aesthetic, dental, and eye surgery as well.
Cizmecioglu believes that this market will continue to grow in the future.
The increase in interest in Turkey is reflected in the tourism sector as well.
According to data from Turkey’s Tourism Office in Madrid, the number of Spaniards visiting Turkey was around 75,000 last year, but that figure has reached 255,000 in the past 10 months and is expected to quadruple to 300,000 by the end of the year.
This trend is also reflected in the performance of Turkish Airlines, which has seen a 123% increase in passengers compared to last year.
In fact, the airline has even surpassed its pre-pandemic passenger volume in some locations.
The number of weekly flights from Spain to Turkey is also expected to increase from 70 to 82 for the summer season, with the number of flights from Madrid and Barcelona, the two main destinations in Spain, increasing from 21 to 25.
