‘Oligarchs keep their boats anchored in Bodrum’

Şenay Büyükköşdere - MUĞLA

As Russian oligarchs never took their boats from the western province of Muğla’s Bodrum district this year, tourism sector representatives predict that the country will have a successful tourism season this summer.

Tourism professionals, who opened the season last year and were worried about whether the Russians would come to Türkiye this year while the war was ravaging Russia, are hopeful about this season as anchored Russian boats fill up Turkish marinas.

Kemal Bayık, general manager of Susona Bodrum, a luxury resort operating under the Hilton Group, stated that Russian oligarchs are guaranteed in Türkiye this season.

Bayık reminded that Bodrum was empty last June as Russians and Ukrainians did not visit, but as they started to arrive after July, Turkish tourism had a very successful season, adding that Russians even had their boats anchored in the winter season.

Bayık pointed out that the famous Russian oligarch Roman Abramovic’s boat is still in Bodrum.

Stating that they expect tourists from many other countries, not just Russians, Bayık said that Bodrum entered the summer season this year with ambitious goals and that the occupancy level of the hotels that opened their doors in April is already looking good.

“Especially the luxury segment hotels have already started to host tourists. This year Bodrum will host many giant organizations, especially Indian weddings,” Bayık said.

Emphasizing that there was a slowdown in bookings after early February’s deadly earthquakes even though the numbers are still ahead of last year’s figures, Bayık said that tourists also postponed their holiday plans in Türkiye until after the elections.

For this reason, Bayık noted that they expect a strong accumulation of bookings after the election, and twice as many foreign tourists are expected than Turkish locals.