Ramadan Bayram expected to boost tourism in Turkey

According to the Turkish Hoteliers Association, the number of visitors is set to increase during celebrations for Ramadan Bayram, also known as Eid al-Fıtr.

Both domestic and foreign visit numbers will considerably increase during the Bayram period. Istanbul, Trabzon, Yalova and Bursa are expected to be the most crowded regions in the country.

According to Müberra Eresin, head of TÜROB, despite the war between Russia and Ukraine -also two major tourist sources- Turkey will see an occupancy rate of 70%, the same as the last quarter of the last year.

“We have seen how important Turkey is for foreign tourism professionals and therefore holidaymakers. We hope to see positive results from the second half of the year.

“Our tourist arrivals from Spain and Latin America are noticeably higher than in previous years. We expect tourist arrivals from Iran to increase, as well”, Eresin commented.

“The current vitality in the Middle East market continues. Our loss in the tourism markets of Russia and Ukraine is comparable to other markets.

“We are hopeful to reach pre-pandemic figures this season, despite the possible risks of tensions between Russia and Ukraine. We expect a stronger picture in the second half of the year in city hotels”, she added.

Moreover, TÜROB expects tourism incomes starting from $34.5 billion in the second half of 2022.

On the other hand, in order for tourists to avoid frequent scams this season, Eresin recommends visitors to confirm reservations directly with the hotels when booking their stay.

Turkey is currently celebrating Tourism Week, marked each year between April 15 and April 22. Thanks to public awareness campaigns and high vaccination rates of the citizens, the country’s tourism is expected to revive in the near future, so players in the sector are optimistic.

“As TÜROB, I would like to emphasize that we are very happy to have laid the pioneering foundations together that increase the competitiveness of Turkish tourism and make this power sustainable.

“The number of tourists is now exceeding 50 million from the number of tourists of around 2-2.5 million and the bed capacity of 85,000 now reached 1.5 million,” Eresin concluded.

With the tourism sector as one of the main engines for the Turkish economy, high employment rate and as much as $90 billion investments, the country aims for even further growth despite the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

 

Source: dailysabah.com