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3,500 Indians visit Istanbul as gift from boss
3,500 Indians visit Istanbul as gift from boss
Some 3,500 Indians have started their Istanbul holiday paid by an Indian businessman, who was included in Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires. Click through for the story in photos...
Billionaire Dilip Shanghvi spent more than $10 million to shuttle his employees to Istanbul with charter flights for a complimentary holiday, according to Turkish officials who spoke to Demirören News Agency. The Indian employees began July 11 to visit Istanbul’s touristic areas, such as Sultanahmet, as groups of 50 people were accompanied by 80 tour guides.
“Istanbul is a beautiful city and its people are helpful. It’s great that our company brought us here. We thank the owner of our company,” Indian employee Suhan Karuna told the agency. Shop owners in Sultanahmet are also happy with the generosity of Shanghvi, who gave away one million dollars to his employees as pocket money to spend in Istanbul.
“Tourism revenues were not good in the past years. It is improving this year and such events are beneficial to us, too,” a shopkeeper told the agency.
The billionaire’s one-week complimentary holiday will include visits to tourist hotspots, including Topkapı Palace and Hagia Sophia, as well as private yacht trips on the Bosphorus.
The company has also scheduled an award ceremony for July 14 to hand out prizes to its employees. More than 10 hotels in Istanbul, including the most expensive 10 hotels, have been closed down by the billionaire for his employees.
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