Tourism professionals: The rise in the exchange rate makes our country a center of attraction for foreigners

This year, the Eid al-Adha holiday was increased to 9 days, and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared administrative leave on Monday, June 26 and Tuesday, June 27.

Since Eid al-Adha, which coincides with a period when schools will be closed and exams will be completed, constitutes the first holiday opportunity in the summer period, there has already been a high demand in many tourist regions, especially in Antalya and the Aegean. regions.

Kaan Kaşif Kavaloğlu, President of the Association of Mediterranean Tour Operators and Hoteliers (AKTOB), said that the extension of the Eid al-Adha holiday to 9 days and the early announcement of the holiday, school holidays and the end of exams are advantages for the tourism sector

‘NORMALLY 15 PERCENT IS DOMESTIC TOURISM’

Explaining that the summer season has started in Antalya with the warmest weather, Kavaloğlu said, “The weather conditions are very good, so our hotels will reach a minimum of 90 percent and 100 percent occupancy during Eid al -Adha. Although normally 15 percent of 5 and 4 star hotels are national tourism, this activity will be much higher during the festive period. I hope that about 300 thousand people will come to Antalya with a package tour. Of course, this will increase our occupancy, but people will not have vacations for 9 days. “Hotel entries will be divided into vacation periods of 4-5 days,” he said.

EXPECTATIONS WERE NOT MET IN APRIL AND MAY

Stating that April and May in the tourism sector were below expectations, the 5-star hotel’s general manager İsmail Çağlar explained that they experienced many factors, such as the Russian war and economic bottleneck, the electoral atmosphere and unstable weather.

Explaining that the announcement of the Eid al-Adha holiday 9 days in advance in Turkey is pleasant for the sector, İsmail Çağlar said, “Due to the peak season, hotel occupancy rates have started to increase from 50 to 100 percent anyway. The end of the elections, the closing of schools, the warming of the climate began the influx of tourists. For these reasons, we did not have many places left during the holidays. We fill those gaps with requests from domestic guests. There is currently almost no space left in our hotel and surrounding hotels over the festive period. The occupancy rates are 80 percent foreign tourists and 20 percent domestic tourists,” he said.

‘THE INCREASE IN EXCHANGE HAS INFLUENCED THE LOCAL TOURIST’

Indicating that the holidays provide an opportunity for a long family vacation, the reservations of many hotels in the Antalya region have already reached 100 percent occupancy. While foreign tourists account for 80 percent of bookings, Şebnem Akman, vice president of the Turkish Young Entrepreneurs Association, said the rise in the exchange rate made Turkey a center of attraction for foreigners. Balta said: “Early booking creates a 25 percent discount opportunity for people. Due to the fact that the schools are on vacation abroad and the weather is getting hot in our country, the reservations of foreign tourists have also increased. The reserve increase rate rose to 121 percent. With the onset of the high season in Antalya, there is a density of reservations. The rise in the euro and the dollar also makes our country a center of attraction for foreign and health tourists. As for domestic tourists, the high parity of the euro and the dollar negatively affects the reserves, ”he said. (DHA)