Hotel occupancy rates plunge 20 pct in Istanbul: Association

ISTANBUL

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Hotel occupancy rates in Istanbul dropped more than 20 percent in March compared to the same month of 2015, higher than the average 16.5 percent drop across the country, said a leading tourism association in a written statement on April 22. 

While hotel occupancy rates decreased by 16.5 percent to 52.5 percent across Turkey in March compared to the same month of the previous year, the rates decreased by over 20 percent to 51.9 percent in Istanbul, said the Hotel Association of Turkey (TÜROB) in a report, which was based on data from STR Global. 

Turkey saw the lowest hotel occupancy rates across Europe in March, as it did in February as well. The highest hotel occupancy rates were seen in Ireland with 74.5 percent, Britain with 73 percent and Spain with 71.4 percent, according to the report. 

The average hotel room prices per night in Istanbul declined from 140 euros to 91.9 euros in March compared to the same month in 2015. Prices in the city regressed to 92.2 euros in the first three months of the year, according to the report. The European average in the first three months of the year was announced as 108.1 euros. 

TÜROB President Timur Bayındır said tourism support packages, which were recently announced by the government, have mainly focused on the coastline, but these packages needed to cover the leading tourism destination cities as well. 

“It is obvious that tourism facilities cannot continue their operations unless they attract tourists. More comprehensive packages need to be developed to recover the sector,” he said. 

He noted city hotels are generally more expensive than coastline hotels due to their higher costs, but in Turkey the difference has been narrowing.