Fethiye becomes top choice for weddings
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Doğan News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 05, 2009 00:00
FETHİYE - Fethiye, a holiday district in Muğla has become a popular choice for Turkish-English marriages.
According to figures released from the Fethiye Birth Registration Office, 219 couples, which consisted at least one foreigner, were married in Fethiye last year, 107 being between Turkish men and foreign women. Turks’ marriages to British women have a huge lead with almost 80 percent, with Germans, Canadians and Moroccans trailing the English.
The total number of Turkish-foreign marriages was a remarkable increase from the 2007 figure of 72. There was, however, a decrease in Fethiye women marrying foreign men, only eight were involved in foreign marriages, compared to 11 in 2007.
Meanwhile, the number of marriages of foreigners increased from 192 to 219. This is a serious asset for tourism in Fethiye, said the head of the Fethiye Hotel Managers’ Union, or FETOB, Yavuz Torunoğulları. "After tourism companies discovered the natural beauty of Fethiye, they developed ’marriage tourism,’" he said, and added that more than 15,000 tourists came to Turkey for weddings.
Nice prices
He said prices in Turkey were an important factor in foreigners choosing to get married in Turkey. "They would have paid three or four times what they paid in Turkey if they organized their weddings in England or other European countries," said Torunoğulları. "A wedding with 100 to 150 guests costs 60,000 lira, or 15,000 pounds in Turkey, but would cost at least 50,000 pounds in England."
The total number of Turkish-foreign marriages was a remarkable increase from the 2007 figure of 72. There was, however, a decrease in Fethiye women marrying foreign men, only eight were involved in foreign marriages, compared to 11 in 2007.
Meanwhile, the number of marriages of foreigners increased from 192 to 219. This is a serious asset for tourism in Fethiye, said the head of the Fethiye Hotel Managers’ Union, or FETOB, Yavuz Torunoğulları. "After tourism companies discovered the natural beauty of Fethiye, they developed ’marriage tourism,’" he said, and added that more than 15,000 tourists came to Turkey for weddings.
Nice prices
He said prices in Turkey were an important factor in foreigners choosing to get married in Turkey. "They would have paid three or four times what they paid in Turkey if they organized their weddings in England or other European countries," said Torunoğulları. "A wedding with 100 to 150 guests costs 60,000 lira, or 15,000 pounds in Turkey, but would cost at least 50,000 pounds in England."