The tourism industry is expected to break historical records with the upcoming New Year.
Turkey, reaching the tourism figures of the acclaimed 2019 by the end of October 2023, is set to break this record with New Year bookings from the European and Russian markets. Hamit Kuk, Chief Advisor to the President of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB), stated, 'We have almost matched the 2019 figures, and I believe we will comfortably exceed the 51.7 million by the end of the year, especially after the data for November and December are released.' As Turkey aims high in tourism for 2023, the January-October period already reached 50.2 million tourists, and it is anticipated that, with the November-December data and New Year bookings, it will surpass the 2019 figure of 51.7 million. Hamit Kuk mentioned that after December 15, Russians and Europeans planning to spend the New Year period in Antalya will contribute to positive results, especially between December 20 and 31.
"We can already see sales for the 2024 summer in the domestic market."
Highlighting that early reservation sales for the 2024 season have already begun in both the European and Russian markets, as well as in the domestic market, Kuk noted, 'When we look at Europe, the interest is almost the same as last year, but the real demand will come after the New Year. Comparing the current early reservation sales to last year, we think that 2024 will be slightly stronger than 2023. In the Russian market, despite a slow progress due to the issues with Ukraine, it is going almost the same as last year. Surprisingly, we see that sales for the 2024 season have already started in the domestic market. I am happy about this because the awareness of early reservations among local guests is a good thing. It will be nice for them to buy their holidays at discounted prices now instead of higher prices during the season, and to plan accordingly. Current sales are going well compared to last year, but the real volume will start to increase in all markets from January onwards.' Kuk also mentioned an increase in interest from the domestic market for spending New Year's in Antalya, adding, 'Campaigns started last weekend, and there is a growing interest, especially in facilities with artists. I expect the domestic market to intensify from next week onwards.'
"There is a possibility that we will exceed it by the end of the year by a certain margin."
Despite the earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş, Kuk highlighted that the 2023 tourism season is progressing quite well. He pointed out that current figures are almost the same as the record year of 2019, and with New Year bookings, a new record could be set. Kuk stated, 'We have almost matched the 2019 figures, and there is a possibility that we will exceed it by the end of the year by a certain margin. Looking at it from that perspective, 2023 has been a highly productive year. If there are no setbacks, we believe that we will continue to surpass 2023 in 2024. As Turkey, we are a tourism country with this potential. Seeing the early reservations, it seems that we are on solid ground. Hopefully, it will continue this way. By the end of October 2023, we reached the figure of 50.2 million. Our figure for the whole year in 2019 was 51.7 million. However, during that period, we had achieved $34.5 billion in tourism revenue, whereas now we have earned $42 billion in foreign exchange. After the data for November and December are released, I believe we will easily reach the 51.7 million figure from 2019. So, we expect to close the year 2023 at around 51-52 million.'
"Our expectation for 2024 is at least a 10% increase."
Highlighting that Antalya hosted 15.6 million tourists in 2019, Kuk mentioned that with the release of the November and December data for 2023, this figure will likely be reached or even surpassed. Emphasizing the significance of the upcoming tourists during the New Year period, Kuk stated, '2019 was our best season. Currently, it appears that we have matched the 2019 figures in 2023. With the performance during the New Year, it is possible to exceed that. After closing 2023 with such impressive figures, our expectation for 2024, barring any setbacks, is that we will increase by at least 10%.'