Eid, Easter holidays may bring early joy to Turkish hoteliers

ISTANBUL

Representatives of the local hospitality industry expect robust domestic and international tourism activity in the next couple of months due to the Eid al-Fitr, Nevruz, Easter holidays and school break.

Türkiye aims for 65 million visitors and $64 billion in tourism revenues this year.

The Eid-al Fitr holiday, which will take place between March 29 and April 1, will coincide with the start of the schools' mid-term holiday.

During the Eid-al Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, traditionally millions of people hit the roads to see their relatives or to spend a couple of days in resort towns.

Before that, the Nevruz holiday will take place on March 21, which hoteliers say, will lead to an influx of holidaymakers from Iran, the Middle East and Turkic nations.

The local tourism industry also pins its hopes on the Easter Holiday in April and Victory Day — a long national holiday — in Russia in May, which is Türkiye’s major source market.

Bookings for the Eid-al Fitr holiday are up 15 percent compared to last year, according to Mehmet İşler, vice president of the Turkish Hoteliers’ Federation (TÜROFED).

With the Eid holiday, the tourism sector will kick off the 2025 tourism season earlier than usual, he said.

İşler expects to hotel to see a 100 percent occupation rate during this holiday.

Daily prices for accommodations, at two-room guesthouses and five-star hotels in Aegean resorts, start at 2,000 Turkish Liras and can go up to 10,000 liras, including breakfast, he noted.

Kaşif Kavaloğlu, the president of the Mediterranean Touristic Hoteliers and Investors Association (AKTOB), too, expects an influx of local tourists to the resort towns in his region, saying that tourism activity will remain robust in the following months due to the Easter in Europe and the Victory Day holiday in Russia, which starts on May 9.

He noted that while March is usually a challenging month for tourism professionals, April is expected to be very busy for hoteliers.

“Although Antalya's high tourism season typically begins at the end of April, this year it will start on April 1st, thanks to the Eid al-Fitr,” Kavaloğlu said.

With favorable weather conditions in Antalya, where temperatures range between 22-25 Celsius degrees, Kavaloğlu expressed optimism about an increase in the number of visitors to the region.

“Bookings from Europe for the Easter holiday look very promising. Following that, there will be a long holiday in Russia,” said İsmail Çağlar, a manager at a five-star hotel.

He noted that during the Nevruz holiday, there is usually a significant influx of tourists from the Turkic Republics, the Middle East and Iran.