Turkey once again a top tourist destination for Germans

BERLIN - Anadolu Agency

Turkey has made a strong comeback on the German tourism market with significant growth in early bookings, the German Travel Association (DRV) stated on March 6. 

“Sales figures for Turkey bookings are double compared to the same period last year,” Norbert Fiebig, the group’s head, said at a press conference at the ITB Berlin Tourism Fair. 

“Turkey is making a comeback this year, that’s for sure,” Fiebig said, adding that Spain and Greece would also be among the top holiday destinations this year. 

The number of German tourists visiting Turkey has fallen over the past two years, largely due to political tensions between Ankara and Berlin as well as instability in countries neighboring Turkey. 

The number of German tourists dropped from 5.5 million in 2015 to 3.9 million in 2016, according to official figures. In 2017 around 3.5 million German tourists traveled to Turkey. 

Ankara and Berlin recently took steps to normalize their relations, and during a visit to Berlin on Feb. 15 Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said they were expecting a “new era” in ties. 

EU heavyweight Germany remains Turkey’s main economic and trade partner, despite political disagreements between governments on a number of issues. In 2017, the bilateral trade volume reached 37.6 billion euros.