Holiday in Turkey may be possible soon, says German official

BERLIN

Tourists from Germany may soon have the chance to travel to Turkey for their summer holiday, said Thomas Bareiss, Germany’s commissioner for tourism.

“Every country should be treated fairly, and I am pretty confident that tourism activity between Turkey and Germany will resume soon,” Bareiss told German broadcaster NTV.

The German official added that fruitful talks were held in Berlin last week with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.

Bareiss said that Ankara and Berlin have been holding “positive” talks regarding safe tourism. He also added that officials are mulling over steps to be taken to recommence tourism activities between the two countries provided that the number of coronavirus cases is lower in Turkey’s holiday resorts and conditions are created for safe travel

He praised Turkey’s efforts in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak and said that “If the pandemic outlook improves in Turkey, we may ramp up preparations for the resumption of tourism activity.”

German officials are in touch with their Turkish counterparts on a regular basis, according to Bareiss.

“We are making assessments each week and holding discussions on safe travel,” he added.

Germany and Turkey will continue their talks on tourism and conditions for lifting coronavirus-related travel restrictions, German’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on July 2, following a meeting with Çavuşoğlu in Berlin.

Maas noted than Turkey provided today detailed information about its COVID-19 containment measures and safe tourism program, which would be reviewed by relevant German and European authorities.

Çavuşoğlu, for his part, renewed his call on Germany to reconsider its travel warning on Turkey, stressing that Ankara has taken all necessary measures to ensure the safety of tourists.

“Germany needs to revise its travel warning on Turkey based on objective assessments. Our German friends also want to holiday here,” he added.

Turkey is one of the most popular travel destinations for German holidaymakers. Nearly 5 million German tourists traveled to Turkey last year.