The tourist target of Bodrum this season is 1.5 million

There are only a few days left until the start of the tourism season. Works for the new season continue in Bodrum, one of the Turkey's most important holiday destination.

Hosting 1.1 million tourists last year, Bodrum's target this year is 1.5 million tourists. However, due to the Maraş-centered earthquakes, tourism professionals expect more foreign guests and think that domestic tourism will be affected negatively.

Ömer Faruk Dengiz, President of Bodrum Hoteliers Association (BODER)

'EARTHQUAKE WILL AFFECT DOMESTIC TOURISM'

Bodrum Hoteliers Association (BODER) President Ömer Faruk Dengiz stated that despite all the negativities, the reservations are in good condition, and that the occupancy rate of the hotels has reached 40 percent even though the season has not started. Noting that there was a stagnation in reservations due to the earthquake, but there were no cancellations, Dengiz said, “Even though we encounter many negative situations, we do our best. During the earthquake, reservations stopped. But there were no cancellations. This was a good development for us. As of last weekend, the British airline company started its flights and within this scope, the first British convoy arrived. About five flights will be made each week. However, we expect the start of flights from Russia, Poland and Germany. As of the end of May, flights from the Arabian region will begin. We expect it to return to the days when there was a lot of demand, especially for the UK, as it used to be.”

Emphasizing that the earthquake will especially affect domestic tourism, Dengiz said, “After all, people have anxiety due to the earthquake. Of course, this uneasiness will negatively affect tourism. We will see the effects of this especially in domestic tourism. We are prepared for this. For example, we have reduced the number of rooms we have prepared for domestic tourism. We also created action plans related to earthquakes. We made the same preparations for other natural disasters; personnel training, first aid training, and disaster management training were given. We also warn the hotels and businesses that do not provide these trainings.”

'DESTROYING THE HOTEL AND BUILDING A NEW IS NOT THE SOLUTION'

23 hotels were destroyed in Maraş-centered earthquakes. Many people who stayed in the hotels lost their lives. There are four active fault lines in Muğla, Turkey, which is an earthquake country. Therefore, the durability of the hotels is as important as the building stock of Bodrum.

Stating that most of the existing hotels are not durable in a possible earthquake, Dengiz said, “There is also the problem of the durability of the hotels in Bodrum. Many structures were built in the 1990s and it is not clear under what conditions they were built. But this issue is not something to be dealt with alone. The fact that the buildings in Bodrum have two floors provides an advantage. Just demolishing the hotel and building a new one is not the solution. A collective understanding needs to be put forward. The Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, the Ministry of Tourism, local administrations and hoteliers' associations should cooperate on this issue. If there are relevant projects, tourism professionals will not say no.”

Another issue is what will happen to the earthquake victims who are placed in hotels after the earthquakes… Dengiz informed that the number of earthquake victims hosted in Bodrum hotels has decreased from 3,300 to 500, and noted that the remaining earthquake victims will be evacuated from the hotels and relocated to other areas.

Bodrum Professional Hotel Managers Association Hüseyin Softa

'WE BECOME A CHEAP TOURISM COUNTRY'

Evaluating the season, Bodrum Professional Hotel Managers Association Hüseyin Softa said that there is interest in Turkey in European countries. Stating that the sector will be affected due to the earthquake, Softa said, “The earthquake will affect tourism this year. Due to the earthquake, we did not receive any reservations in February. But the reservations in this process have not been cancelled. This has been an important development for us. As of May, the tourist season will begin. Of course, elections are a negative factor here. Europeans have question marks in their minds because of the election. After May 14, this problem will also be resolved”. Stating that there are many current problems, especially transportation, Softa said, “There are problems such as road, transportation, water, qualified personnel problems in Bodrum. These problems must end. If these problems continue, the season will be very difficult. Despite all the difficulties, the goal set today is not a dream. We can reach our goal of 1.5 million."

Underlining that qualified tourists are more important than the number of tourists, Softa continued, “We are experiencing a personnel shortage. This situation does not reduce the interest in us, but the tourists do not leave satisfied. This causes more cheap tourists to come. The current situation shows this. When there are no tourists, businesses reduce prices. Quality tourists should come. The number doesn't matter. Quality should be increased rather than quantity. Tourism is a profession that is easy to access and difficult to maintain. In order for it to be sustainable, quality and qualified service are needed. If you do not have strategies and goals, you will become a cheap tourism country. Bodrum is also in this direction. We are on our way to becoming a cheap tourism city.”