Germans declare Antalya most trusted tourism spot

ANTALYA - Anatolia News Agency

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The southern province of Antalya, one of Turkey’s premiere tourism destinations, has been chosen as the most trusted tourism destination among Germans along with Mallorca, according to 4,000 travel agencies surveyed by a Turkish tourism portal.

“Some 95 percent of the elderly, 85 percent of families with children and 70 percent of the youth find Antalya trustable. Antalya has become the most trusted destination of German families,” said Hüseyin Baraner, the representative for Turkey at TUI AG (Touristik Union International), a German multinational travel and tourism company headquartered in Hanover.

“The elderly and children feel safe the most during vacations in Antalya,” he said, noting that some of the reasons respondents distrusted other places was poor infrastructure. “It is a source of pride that Antalya has been chosen as the most trusted destination shining out among other destinations.”

The Information Service for Travel Agencies and Travellers, TourExpi.com, conducted the survey covering 4,000 travel agencies in Germany this month, he said, adding that the detailed results of the survey would be revealed July 10.

Families with children visit Antalya the most among all the destinations in the world, he said, adding that nearly 3 million children and youth came to Antalya last year. 

“You may think [as an adult] that ‘nothing will happen to me’ and just go to some place,” he said, but added that families never considered going to an “unsafe” place.

The most important criterion for tourists going on holiday is ultimately “safety,” he said, noting that this proved how safe the southern Turkish province was.

It was particularly meaningful that Antalya is the most visited destination despite economic crises in the European and Russian markets, he said.

Falling oil prices hit Russian tourists 

Falling crude oil prices may drag down the number of Russian tourists coming to Turkey, but German tourists, who have been long-time loyal customers of the Turkish tourism industry, may be the industry’s savior this year, an hotelier from the southern province of Antalya, also known as the capital of tourism, has said. 

“There is a danger particularly about Russia. The number of Russian tourists drops in tandem with falling crude oil [prices]. Germans will likely be the saviors of Turkish tourism,” Aktay Tourism Investment and Enterprises Chief Executive Vadi Karatopraklı said, noting that all figures regarding local tourism data are dropping this year, according to a report by daily Hürriyet.

The number of tourists traveling to Turkey dropped 5 percent in the first five months of the year, compared to the same period last year. The decrease in the number of Russian tourists seen this year is about 15 percent, Karatopraklı said, adding that the number would likely fall further in the coming years. “We should woo 5.5 million high-income German consumers. If we can attract them, Turkish tourism will offset the blow from [the low number of] Russians.” The number of Iranian tourist fell by 80 percent this year, he said.