Sedat Gönüllüoglu the Turkish tourism and culture office’s attaché in the UAE, said a number of changes had sparked the influx of Arab tourists.

“We have good relationships with those countries,” he said. “The shopping is popular and there’s been a response to the Arab Spring. Lots of people who would have gone to Egypt, Syria and Libya have gone somewhere else.”

Many of the Arabs are entering Turkey without visas because of the visa-free deals signed by their respective governments with Turkey, and are coming to enjoy the discounted shopping in the new malls springing up across Turkey – not least the new Trump Towers that just opened in Istanbul the first in Europe. In order to capitalise on the shopping tourism the authorities have organised two shopping festivals in June, the first in Ankara and the second in Istanbul.

“We have the same culture and religion, so they do not feel like strangers in Turkey. Nobody has a prejudice about them. We see the Arabs as friends,” said Mr Gönüllüoglu.

Shoppers spent 8 billion Turkish lira (Dh16bn) in 40 days last year at the Istanbul Shopping Festival, and the organisers hope to achieve sales of 7bn lira this year in just 21 days. The festival hosted 5 million visitors last year and this year will run from June 9 to 29.

It is also hoped that many of the Arabs incoming will be adding property to their shopping list after the Turkish parliament this week adopted a new bill dropping the reciprocity clause from foreign ownership law and effectively allowing gulf-state Arabs to buy property in Turkey for the first time ever.

In the hopes of freeing up the blockage on Turkey’s EU Accession campaign, Turkish EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis and EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule have put their collective weight behind a new “positive agenda” to put the negotiations back on track.

“This is a special day in our relations,” EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule told a joint news conference with Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis in Ankara.

“This positive agenda should bring fresh dynamics and new momentum in our relations,” said Fule. “Our aim is to keep the accession process alive and put it properly back on track after a period of stagnation which has been a source of frustration on both sides.”

Turkey’s accession negotiations began formally in 2005 but of the 35 chapters that must be successfully negotiated on in order to join the EU, Turkey has opened just 13 in 7 years and closed just 1.

Last October in an annual progress report the EC put forward a new timetable in the hopes of getting a dissolutioned Turkey back on board the accession train. Under the new agenda Turkey and the EC will set up 8 working groups, each one working on a single chapter on which the EC will offer support and guidance on bringing Turkey in line with the EU requirements allowing them to close on the chapters.

The new move “is not to replace but to complement and support the accession process of Turkey,” said Fule. However, Turkey still refuses to recognise EU member Cyprus let alone open its sea and air ports to the country, both of which remain the major hurdles to its accession.

Gunay also said that ”with 31.4 million tourists, Turkey has in 2011 been the sixth destination worldwide and has increased its sector by 9.8%” The minister pointed out that the EU’s tourism ”which is the third economy in the Union” has everything to gain from Turkey’s entrance to the EU, making it ”more stable and dynamic”.

Gunay then expressed his ”dissatisfaction” regarding the failed talks on instruction and culture, something he maintains is instead ”crucial for effectively joining the EU” The minister concluded that Turkey’s entry in the EU ”will no doubt bring benefits in several areas, economical, social and cultural’

Turkish Development Bank Secures 75 Million Euros Loan from EIB

In other news The Development Bank of Turkey (DBT) has signed a 75 million euro loan agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the ‘Development of Small and Big Enterprises (DBT Loan for Renewable Energy and Energy Productivity).’

Since the DBT opened channels with the EIB in 2002 it has secured some 462.5 million euros in loans. The latest laosn is to be used in the fight against climate change through projects in renewable energy, energy productivity and energy efficiency.

Now, I am not going to be another one to say “Turkey looks like it may be upgraded in the next x months” because I have heard myself saying it all before. What I will say is that, upgrade or not Turkey is finally beginning to make some real moves as a real estate giant in the making.

Last week Donald Trump opened a Trump Tower in Istanbul. That is not so significant on its own, in fact it is one shopping mall out of well over 1 million square meters of shopping mall space that has been constructed over the past year. However, what is significant is the fact that Trump has chosen Turkey to make his first foray into Europe; that’s right Trump Towers Istanbul is the first of its kind in Europe.

Last year 1.1 million square feet of shopping mall floor was constructed in Turkey according to a recent report by Cushman and Wakefield, giving Turkey the second largest construction pipeline in Europe behind Russia.

‘Positive recent operating trends have been observed in all commercial property types,’ Senay Azak-Matt, General Manager Turkey at German lender Aareal told Property EU magazine. ‘Recent increasing retail turnovers indicate a sustainable environment for projects with strong fundamentals. Meanwhile, the logistics segment, due to a shortage of quality warehouses, is expected to provide further development opportunities, with still high land prices but increasing rental levels.’

After reporting on expert predictions of an upgrade for Turkey in the next 18 months (ahem), the magazine again quotes Azak-Matt saying that more and more investors are paying real attention to Turkey as it continues to be among the best performers in Europe.

Before yesterday only foreigners from countries that allowed Turks to buy property could buy property in Turkey, this prevented nationals from 89 countries from buying in Turkey. The final decision on the articles of the law will be made by the Cabinet, which will be able to determine which of the 89 countries will be added to the list of countries whose citizens are able to purchase property.

The law is unsurprisingly expected to bring thousands more buyers and millions more dollars into the Turkish property market. Although the main currencies will likely be Dirham (UAE), Riyals (Qatar, Saudi Arabia) and other currencies from Arab countries. Many Arab nationalities were prevented from buying by the lack of their countries reciprocity, they are now allowed to buy, and with Turkey’s current popularity in the Arab world, along with the lack of compeition due to the lingering effects of the Arab Spring, Arab buyers are expected to pour into Turkey.