Tourism activity continues with the "foreign market"

In Antalya, which hosted more than 5.5 million tourists in 6 months of the year, tourism activity reached its peak during the Eid al-Adha holiday.

According to the data of the General Directorate of State Airports Authority (DHMI), 10 thousand 291 aircraft traffic took place at Antalya Airport in the last 10 days. Over 1.7 million guests, including inbound and outbound, were hosted at the domestic and international terminals. On July 1, the highest number of passengers of all time was reached with 1188 flights and 199 thousand 419 passengers at Antalya Airport.

Antalya, which hosts guests from all continents, received the most tourists from Russia, Germany, Poland, England, Romania, Kazakhstan, Czechia, Israel, Moldova and Austria in 6 months of the year.

Despite the end of the holiday, tourism activity in the city continues with foreign tourists. The facilities in the city with a bed capacity of approximately 650 thousand welcome tourists. The intensity in tourism has also increased the expectations of the sector representatives.

"The British closed the lack of the Ukrainian market"

Mediterranean Touristic Hoteliers and Operators Association (AKTOB) President Kaan Kavaloğlu told Anadolu Agency (AA) that during the Eid al-Adha holiday, when domestic tourist activity also increased, the facilities in the entire region reached 100 percent occupancy in Antalya.

Reminding that more than 5.5 million tourists came to the city in 6 months of the year, Kavaloğlu noted that they started July with a record in terms of the number of tourists entering the city. Stating that there is a serious density in the city, Kavaloğlu stated that this activity will continue especially in July and August.

Pointing out that they received serious demands from countries such as Germany, Poland and England this year, Kavaloğlu said:

"In the ranking of the countries sending the most tourists, Russia is again number one and Germany is number two. We did not think that we could easily reach 2019 figures due to the war between Ukraine and Russia, one of our important markets, but I think that we will exceed 15 million tourists by the end of the year, with the increase in Russia, Germany's higher than 2019 figures, and the demands in markets such as Poland and England. The British market is also of great importance to us. For the first time last year, the number of people who came from England exceeded 1 million, this year we expect more than 1.5 million Britons. Creating more than 1 million source markets for Antalya is very valuable because there is a loss of nearly 90 percent in Ukraine, which is an important market. The British market made up for the lack of the Ukrainian market."

Noting that they expect an increase from Romania, Moldova and Balkan countries this year, Kavaloğlu emphasized that new records can be broken with the approach of 1 million people in source markets such as Poland, Netherlands, Kazakhstan and Israel.

Stating that the season in Antalya may extend until the end of the year, Kavaloğlu said, "Reservations from Germany, Russia and England continue, and we expect September and October to be good."

Pointing out that the most important competitors in tourism are Spain, France, Italy and Greece, Kavaloğlu continued his words as follows:

"European Union countries could not give a very good test during the pandemic period. They support Greece, Spain, France and Italy very seriously in order to return the tourism movement and trade within themselves after the pandemic. But Turkey and Antalya, which are 4 hours' flight distance to European countries, are always indispensable for world and Mediterranean tourism. There's no way they can ignore us. Especially when we look at the package programs of tour operators, Antalya and Turkey seem to be a very important destination."

"There are people from countries we have never heard of"

Rıza Perçin, Chairman of the Mediterranean Region Representative Board of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB), stated that the facilities in almost all districts of Antalya spent the holiday completely full.

Reminding that not only the hotels but all parts of the city are full of tents and caravans, Perçin said that they had a fruitful holiday. Pointing out that the activity in the city with foreign tourists continues despite the passing of the holiday, Perçin said, "As tour operators, we are the bees of tourism, our work is very important. We predict that we will find the figure of 17 million in Antalya unless there is a major setback."

Stating that Antalya has sufficient facilities, Perçin stated that it had hosted 15.5 million people before and that it could host 17 million very comfortably.

Emphasizing that tourists from many different countries other than the main markets have started to come to the city, Perçin said, "There are a few guests coming from countries we have never heard of and whose capitals we do not even know. We receive guests from all the well-known countries in the world. Tourism in the Century of Turkey is very important for the country's economy."

Stating that they are doing important work for the tourists to come to the city safely and leave satisfied, Perçin stated that they carry out frequent inspections at the airport against illegal tour operators.