Summer has started, foreign tourist movement has started to fill the hotels in the regions. Antalya maintains its target of 16 million tourists. The Germans took the place of the Russians. In June, it is expected that the tourists from the two countries will reach a close level.
Although the inflationary environment, especially in Europe, and the price increases due to high costs in our country, put pressure on tourism, growth expectations regarding the season continue. This season, the most demand for the coastal areas of Turkey comes from German tourists. The Germans will determine the course of the tourist season. On the other hand, the British support this demand. In addition, the reservations made by Eastern European countries draw attention. Hotel occupancy has started to rise in Antalya, which is the clear leader of summer holidays. The demand, which has slowed down due to the earthquake disaster and elections, is expected to continue with full performance in June.
A country with no alternative
Explaining that they expect the Germans to have a high demand for Turkey, Bentour Germany General Manager Songül Göktaş Rosati said that Turkey is "without alternatives" for the Germans. Rosati, emphasizing that they plan to bring more holidaymakers to Turkey with an increase of 30 percent, said, “This may be 20 percent in the worst case. In fact, January started with a tremendous increase in bookings. Afterwards, the earthquake and the election process in Turkey slowed it down. On the other hand, rising inflation in Europe led people to act cautiously in this unfamiliar region, and the slowdown in pre-bookings became visible. Short-term reservations are currently taking place. However, Turkey is the second most visited and booked country by Germany. Turkey has no alternative, we always say this. Again, compared to other countries, the number of people who come here does not decrease. Our predictions are still high, we will pass 2022 anyway, but we want to show growth against 2019."
Rıza Perçin, Chairman of the Mediterranean Regional Representative Board of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB), stated that they expect a recovery in June in terms of Russian tourists, who were in the first place in the region before. Explaining that the Germans took the place of the Russians, Perçin said, “We see that the Germans took the place of the Russians, who previously covered this region by including the majority. But in June, there may be more head-to-head competition. England will be in third place. There is a normal course in the domestic market. It will increase with the closure of schools and the conclusion of the election."
'The numbers and income will rise'
Burhan Sili, President of Alanya Touristic Operators Association (ALTID), stated that the occupancy rate of the facilities started to increase as of May, despite the earthquake disaster and the subsequent election process slowing down the market. And he said the season will be high this summer with the effect of source markets. While pointing to a much higher season in terms of numbers than 2022, Sili said:
“The most important issue here is the cost issue. The fact that the exchange rates did not differ much compared to the previous year reduces our profitability in tourism, which is also defined as exports in a way. If there are certain improvements in the economy, we will complete the year positively in terms of numbers and income. According to the apparent reservation and demand, Germany will stand out in the regions. Russia's situation is still not clear, but it is important for us. Eastern Europe and Scandinavian countries are also in high demand. The serious attack of England continues.”
'Income remained low while prices increased'
Romania is one of the countries that has increased the number of holidays in Turkey in recent years. Turkey, which is not far from Romania's target of 1 million tourists, is affected by rising domestic prices and the decrease in income in Romania this season. Şaban Atalar, General Manager of ITS Travel Services, the company of Christian Tour in Antalya, one of the largest tour operators in Romania, said that there was a certain decrease from the country to which they conveyed high demand throughout January. Atalar said, “When we look at the season in general, prices in euro terms seem to have increased considerably for people in Romania. In contrast, people's incomes did not increase in Eastern and Western Europe. There has been a new increase in demand for the last month, but it is not at the desired level. This is why Tunisia and Egypt stand out with their more affordable prices. We manage our plans for Turkey with our own three planes. No changes here. We brought 42 thousand tourists in 2022, the target in 2023 is 71 thousand. If we take 2019 as a basis, we brought 64 thousand tourists that year.”