Hotel occupancy rate at nearly 100 pct in some resort towns

ISTANBUL

Occupancy rates at resort towns on the Aegean coast have climbed to nearly 100 percent thanks to the long Eid al-Adha holiday, according to hoteliers in the region.

For instance, some 100,000 cars entered the popular destination of Bodrum in the province of Muğla within a space of four and a half days.

The government’s decision to extend the Eid holiday to nine days has a favorable impact on the local tourism industry, said Mehmet İşler from the Aegean Touristic Enterprises and Accommodations Association (ETİK).

Holidaymakers mostly book hotels for five days, he said, adding that hotels are enjoying the strong demand.

“Last minute sales” for the Eid holiday were strong, İşler said.

The resorts in the Aegean offer a wide range of services to different income groups that attract domestic tourists in large numbers, according to İşler.

Commenting on the industry’s outlook in the coming months, he said that bookings from the two largest markets, namely Russia and Germany, started to pick up, especially after the May elections.

He particularly pointed out that Italian tourist arrivals rose by 75 percent compared with the last year.

İşler expects the influx of tourists from foreign countries to further increase in the coming months.

“Probably, 2023 will be the best year ever for the tourism industry, with new records. It looks like Türkiye will meet the targets of welcoming 60 million foreign tourists and generating $55 billion in tourism revenues this year.”

Domestic plane ticket sales for the Eid holiday soared 320 percent, business daily Ekonomi reported, citing data from travel platform Enuygun.

Most of the tickets were sold for Antalya.

Hotel reservations across the country also rose 70 percent, while plane ticket sales for foreign destinations increased by 174 percent, data showed.

It is estimated that between 8 million to 10 million people will travel, while 2 million people will go on vacation during the Eid al-Adha holiday, according to the daily.