Hotel occupancy rates in Istanbul plunge under 40 pct while Antalya sustained by local tourists: Association

Reminding that the tourism sector has faced a battered season, Turkish Touristic Hotels and Investors Association (TÜROB) President Timur Bayındır noted: “We have endeavored to maintain our operations in a bid to sustain employment and protect sustainable tourism principles. We have been in continuous talks with our local and foreign partners and invited our foreign counterparts and media outlets to our country. The sector will recover its losses quickly as soon as the current environment and ties are back to normal.” 

Bayındır noted that a comprehensive PR campaign must be launched with the support of authorities to rebuild the country’s image for the better. 

“A series of promotional campaigns should follow this,” he noted, adding that the sector had eyes to see the implementation of urgent measures announced by the cabinet to boost productivity and sustain the sector.  
Hotel occupancy rates across Turkey saw a 33.5 percent decline in July compared to the same month of 2015, falling to 41.5 percent, said TÜROB, in line with data from STR Global. 

Istanbul’s hotel occupancy rates dropped to 36.8 percent in July, a 40.6 percent decrease from the same month of 2015. 

Hotel occupancy rates in Antalya regressed to 60.3 percent in July, a 21.9 percent decline from the same month of 2015, mainly thanks to the flock to local tourists rather than foreign tourists, showed the data. 


Turkey: Worst performer across Europe

With these figures, Turkey saw the steepest decline in hotel occupancy rates and showed the lowest rates in July among all European countries. This was also the case for the first seven months of the year. Turkey suffered from the biggest decline in hotel occupancy rates with a 21 percent decline in the mentioned period compared to the same period of 2015, and had the lowest hotel occupancy rate across Europe with 49.1 percent. 

The average hotel room prices per night in Istanbul declined from 129.7 euros to 89 euros in July, normally the hottest tourist month, compared to the same month in 2015. The revenue per available room (RevPAR) also decreased by 59.3 percent in July to 32.8 euros, compared to the same month of the previous year. 

The average hotel room prices per night in Antalya also fell, to 139.4 euros in July, normally the hottest tourist month, from 184.9 euros in the same month in 2015. The RevPAR also decreased by 41.2 percent in July to 84.1 euros, compared to the same month of the previous year.