Interest at fairs indicates strong tourism season for Türkiye

Duygu Erdoğan - ISTANBUL

Two of the world’s most important tourism trade shows have taken place back to back, with ITB Berlin in March and EMITT Istanbul this month bringing together international tourism stakeholders.

The fairs, which take the pulse of tourism around the world, also present general predictions for 2023, and the industry agrees that 2023 could be a record year for the post-pandemic travel industry.

The feedback from Turkish tourism professionals from both fairs also shows that there will be an increase in tourist movement from different regions for the country. Especially in the summer season, with the rise of Eastern and Northern Europe, the country is already looking forward to an active summer season.

In 2022, Türkiye took its record to a new level and achieved tourism revenues of $46.3 billion. In 2023, the country, which has set record targets for the number of foreign tourists and tourism revenues, aims to reach 60 million tourists and generate $56 billion in tourism revenues.

Firuz Bağlıkaya, president of the Turkish Travel Agencies Association (TÜRSAB), emphasized that the bilateral meetings they held at ITB Berlin, the meetings between delegations and the feedback they received from foreign travel agencies were very positive for Türkiye and said they kept their finger on the pulse of the sector at EMITT Istanbul.

“The contacts and meetings we had during EMITT showed that both the demand for our country from abroad is positive and the development of domestic tourism continues while strengthening our expectation to reach the levels we have targeted in terms of tourism in 2023,” she said.

Mete Vardar, chairman of the board of directors of Jolly Tour, said that 2022 was a very successful year for Turkish tourism and that the feedback they received from both ITB Berlin and EMITT predicted high demand for 2023.

“We saw the interest very clearly at the ITB fair,” he said. “The demand for Türkiye, especially from Europe, continues to be very huge. The U.K. market is also intense. The sales of the Russian market have surpassed last year to date, and the demand is still very strong.”

Kaan Kavaloğlu, president of the Mediterranean Tourist Hoteliers and Operators Association (AKTOB), said the results of the fairs support Türkiye’s tourism goals.

“Specifically for Antalya, we expect to exceed 15 million tourists, with the British and German markets sending an increased number of tourists compared to last year,” he added.

“With the decrease in the effects of the Russia-Ukraine tension, there is also an increase in arrivals from Russia. The data for the whole year will be similar to 2019. We are approaching the target of $56 billion in tourism revenues and 60 million tourists, announced by the Culture and Tourism Ministry for 2023. We may experience a new record year.”