Antalya sees 40 pct decline in reservations this year: Association

ANTALYA

DHA photo

The Mediterranean resort of Antalya has seen losses of around 40 percent in the number of reservations over this year compared to the previous year, as security concerns and the diplomatic row with Russia have continued to hit the tourism sector, according to the head of a leading association. 

“We have now seen a year-on-year decline of some 40 percent in tourist reservations in Antalya, although it is early to say anything for the rest of the year. This figure can increase or decrease in the upcoming period in line with future developments,” said the head of the Mediterranean Touristic Hoteliers’ Association (AKTOB), Yusuf Hacısüleyman, as quoted by Anadolu Agency on March 29. 

He noted it was currently not possible to make any predictions about the sector after a series of bomb attacks in Turkey, as well as the ongoing problems with the Russian market. 

He noted the city has seen a sharp decline in the number of European tourists and almost zero arrivals from Russia, although there has been a slight increase in the number of tourists from eastern countries, such as Iran. 

The number of tourists visiting Antalya may decline to around 6-7 million over this year from around 11.5 million unless the Russian market is reopened and if the number of European tourists continues to drop, according to Hacısüleyman. 

He noted terror attacks across the globe have hit the global tourism sector and undermined the freedom of travel of all people. 

“In this vein, we have called for the end of the issuance of travel warnings by all countries, mainly European countries, for any part of the world, as the main aim of the terror attacks is already to create a sense of fear and to limit people’s freedoms… What we all need to do is condemn any attacks that limit or hit people’s freedom of travel altogether,” he said. 

Hacısüleyman said in an earlier interview that they predicted a loss of $8 billion in revenue in their previous scenario upon the predicted loss of around 4 million tourists following the jet crisis with Russia, by presuming the spending per capita at $1,000 plus the multiplier effect at 1.87.

“With the addition of the expected losses from the European market, we have now revised our potential revenue losses to $12 billion,” he said on March 18, as quoted by daily Hürriyet.