Türkiye bookings spike, says UK travel company
LONDON
U.K. holidaymakers are flocking to Türkiye and Egypt to take advantage of favorable currency exchange rates, British daily The Independent has reported, citing a statement by travel company On the Beach.
The number of bookings it has received for summer trips to those destinations is more than double the level from 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, On the Beach said.
A sharp rise in flight capacity has also led to a surge in demand for holidays in Türkiye, according to the travel company.
There are an additional 1.2 million seats on flights from the U.K. to Türkiye this year compared with in 2019, the tour operator said, adding that annual flight capacity is expected to grow by another 1.6 million seats by 2025, reaching a total of 5 million.
Heathrow Airport announced on Aug. 11 that July was its busiest ever month for departures to Türkiye, with more than 73,000 people flying to the country, the daily said.
Antalya is the most popular Turkish location among On the Beach customers, while Hurghada on the Red Sea coast leads the way for Egypt bookings.
Türkiye was the company’s third most-booked overall destination for the summer holidays.
The Canary Islands took the top spot, followed by mainland Spain.
"The destinations to watch out for are Türkiye and Egypt… We expect to see these two destinations to continue to rise and challenge for the Canaries top spot next year,” said Zoe Harris, On the Beach’s chief customer officer.
Tourist arrivals from the U.K. rose by 18 percent in January-June from a year ago to 1.5 million, according to the latest data from the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry.
In the same period of 2022, only 49,000 Britons vacationed in Türkiye.
In June alone, the number of British tourists grew 12 percent year-on-year to 507,000.
