Turkish Consulate in Vancouver, Canada | Interview with Matt Gul, Real Estate Investor

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Turkish Consulate in Vancouver, Canada

Welcome to Vancouver! How long has Turkey had a consulate in Vancouver and when were you appointed?
Thank you and thank you for the opportunity to be in your magazine. The Consulate General in Vancouver was opened in September 2015. I am the second Consul General and have started my tenure in September 2019.

Turkish Airlines have recently started direct flights to Istanbul from Vancouver, can you please tell us about that?
In addition to expanding our consular service network, we are determined to increase our bilateral relations with Western Canada in every field. Turkey is still not much known at this side of the country and we are here to promote it as it deserves so with natural, historical and cultural riches it possesses. An important part of this strategy was establishing a direct flight route between Vancouver and İstanbul. After a delay of 11 months due to the global pandemic, our national flag carrier, Turkish Airlines had started direct flights between two cities as of May 2nd this year. It is a very new route but as the pandemic restrictions ease up in the coming months, we will see how direct flights facilitate growth of economic, touristic and cultural relations between Turkey and Western Canada.

Turkish Airlines has allocated a very modern aircraft for the route and you can arrive to İstanbul just under 12 hours. Moreover, as an international hub, newly opened İstanbul airport offers more than 300 destinations in Europe, Middle East, and Africa within three hours of flight time. Therefore, not only travelling to Turkey but also the ease of reaching third countries via İstanbul hub will make BC residents acknowledge the true value of this new route.
By the way, since we constantly receive similar questions, I will seize this opportunity to inform fellow readers that prior to travel to Turkey, Canadian passport holders need to obtain their e-visas through www.evisa.gov.tr; whereas blue Travel Document holders need to fill out the visa application form at www.visa.gov.tr and get their appointment for an interview at the Consulate. My staff assists all related inquiries either through phone or e-mail.

That direct flight is going to boost tourism to Turkey and Turkish Medical Tourism as well, can you tell us a little bit about this?

Turkey with its famous hospitality culture has the biggest and most modern five star hotel infrastructure in Europe. We offer a huge selection of boutique as well as all inclusive package deals which are more preferable by families with children. But our guests can go beyond sun and sea tourism and explore the incredibly rich history and culture our country harbours as well. Before the global pandemic Turkey was hosting 36 million guests a year and there is no reason to go beyond that in coming years.

Additionally, for more than a decade a new feature has also gained momentum: Turkey has a very strong health infrastructure and it became the center of attraction for patients from Europe and the Middle East for a wide array of medical treatments ranging from plastic surgery to dental treatment and more complex treatments such as In Vitro Fertilization with globally competitive prices. Even before the arrival of Turkish Airlines to Vancouver, through visa interviews we have seen a steady flow of persons who seek treatment in Turkey in aforementioned categories regardless of the restrictions imposed due to the global pandemic. Accordingly, in the post-pandemic period I expect to see at least three fold increase in medical tourism from Vancouver thanks to the direct flights. Imagine getting the private treatment you wish at a time of your choosing with air travel, lodging and vacation combined costing less than Canada.

Matt Gul PREC
West Vancouver Realtor
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West Vancouver Waterfront Listings & West Vancouver Luxury Listings
778.888.8888

Vancouver Turk Konsoloslugu
1111 W Georgia St Suite 303, Vancouver, BC V6E 4M3