Tourism activity likely to remain robust, say hoteliers

ISTANBUL

Hoteliers seem hopeful that the strong tourism activity witnessed during the nine-day Eid al-Adha holiday will maintain its momentum until the fall.

Tens of thousands of holidaymakers flocked to resort towns along the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts during Eid, with some hotels in those destinations fully booked.

Tourist influx to those destinations will continue during July and August, hoteliers said, however noting that room fares are not likely to come down until around September and October.

More than 200,000 people bought package holidays for Antalya alone during Eid, according to Kaan Kavaloğlu, the president of the Mediterranean Touristic Hoteliers and Investors Association (AKTOB).
The occupancy rate at some hotels in the province reached 100 percent, Kavaloğlu said.

Tourist arrivals in Antalya grew 30 percent in the first half this year compared with the same period of 2022 to more than 5.5 million people, he added. “We also made a good start to July…Daily foreign tourist arrivals are now at 90,000. Most of them Russians, Germans and Britons as well as tourists from Poland and the Netherlands.”

Foreign tourists spend at least one week in the city, while domestic tourists stay for four to five days, according to Kavaloğlu.

Russia is the market for the local tourism industry, Kavaloğlu said, however, noting that arrivals from this country fell 40 percent compared with 2019. “We welcomed 1.3 million Russians in the first six months, down from 2.1 million from the same period of 2019. But the number of German tourists rose 26 percent.”

Kavaloğlu predicts that Antalya will host more than 15 million foreign holidaymakers in 2023, up from last year’s 13.5 million.

Another major holiday destination Marmaris was also very busy during the Eid holiday. Demand was so huge that some visitors had to stay at the beaches or in their cars since there were no available rooms in the district’s hotels, said Suat Esin from the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB).

In Bodrum, however, hoteliers were rather disappointed with occupancy rates at around 80 percent during Eid.

“More and more people chose to rent a house or stayed at their friends’ place. Tourist visits are likely to remain below expectations in July,” said Yüksel Aslan from the Bodrum office of TÜRSAB.

Hotel prices have already started to come down in Bodrum, according to Aslan.

During the pandemic, foreigners “discovered Bodrum,” he said. Many countries imposed travel restrictions, and Bodrum became an alternative destination, spiking the demand for Bodrum, Aslan explained.

“In the face of strong demand, accommodation facilities jacked up prices above the inflation rate. Hoteliers in Bodrum made a mistake, and they are now aware of it. There is a risk of losing foreign markets. They are cutting their prices, but customers are still waiting [for prices to further decline],” Aslan said.