Uludag will enter the new year without profit: bookings fell by 50 percent
New Year’s preparations have been completed in Uludağ, which is 40 kilometers from the city center of Bursa by road, in hotels and facilities with a capacity of about 5 thousand beds. Uludağ, where tourists enter the new year with a white cover almost every year, did not have enough snowfall this year.
The lack of snow caused booking cancellations before Christmas. Uludag, where it’s almost impossible to find a place on New Year’s Eve, will welcome the new year with an occupancy rate of about 50 percent this year.
According to the data received from the General Directorate of Meteorology, no snowfall is expected in the coming days and the beginning of the new year, although the temperature drops.
HOTEL OCCUPANCY IS BETWEEN 30-50 PERCENT
Hotel manager Erdem Basarir in his statement emphasized that when New Year’s Eve is mentioned in Turkey, it has been snowing in Uludag for years, albeit on New Year’s Eve. Emphasizing that they are experiencing difficulties due to the lack of snowfall this year, Başarır said:
“When Uludağ hotels opened their first reservations, there was a huge demand. Except for snowfall, our guests chose different alternatives. Therefore, occupancy rates remained between 30 and 50 percent. Unfortunately, we were unable to achieve the occupancy rates we wanted this New Year’s Eve.
Although our local guests go to different destinations, Polish tourists will spend New Year’s Eve here, with an agreement we made. This has been a good development for us.”
‘THE FIRST TIME WE WILL HAVE A NEW YEAR LIKE’
Hotel manager Tekin Demir said that compared to previous years, the New Year would be boring due to the lack of snow. Emphasizing that Uludağ’s “magnet” is snow and that intense demands arise during these periods, Demir said:
“This is the first time we will have a Christmas like this. Uludag is one of the first places that comes to mind when skiing in Turkey is mentioned. It also has an image and location advantage. The number of guests is not as much as we would like”
‘INSUFFICIENT RAIN AFFECTED OPERATIONS VERY BAD’
Murat Saraçoğlu, Chairman of the South Marmara Regional Representative Board of the Turkish Travel Agency Association, said that each hotel will start the new year with different concepts and activities.
Explaining that insufficient rains severely affected business, that reservations were canceled or some of them were postponed, Saraçoğlu used the following statements:
“Installations with artificial snow machines were preferred. There were returns to Kartalkaya. The last time we entered 2020 it was a snowless New Years like this. We are still experiencing the same thing.
Hotel occupancy rates are around 50 percent. Heavy snow is expected starting January 11. There is significant net heavy snowfall in the week of January 19. Towards the New Year, there is a small expectation of snow. Even this can activate reserves in an instant” (AA)