Turkish tourism is watching the development of the war in Ukraine and the crisis between the countries with sadness and regret, as it understands that neither Russian nor Ukrainian tourists should wait for the next season, so officials stopped waiting for a miracle and have already found a replacement for a huge flow of vacationers from Russia. said the President of the Association of Travel Agencies of Turkey (TÜRSAB) Firuz Baglikay. Turkish tourism intends to spread the red carpet for European and Middle Eastern travelers, ie from countries that are in close proximity to Turkey.
According to the head of the association, against the background of the critical situation in Ukraine and large-scale sanctions, the percentage of bookings is falling. However, the official fears that even if the crisis passes, the train of economic difficulties will continue for a long time and, of course, will affect tourism.
“The rapid depreciation of the ruble, problems with flights and the view of Russian citizens on vacation in the country will affect the flow of tourists this year,” he said.
Therefore, tourism officials have decided to refocus on the flow of tourists from CIS countries, before it is too late, and close the tourism deficit created by the Russian-Ukrainian market in Turkey.
“By 2022, our tourism expectations were $ 45 million, and our revenue forecast is over $ 35 billion. There were no cancellations of summer bookings, but there was a slowdown on holidays. We will close our shortage of tourists from CIS countries, including Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East and the Turkic republics. We focus on Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The Iranian market has significant growth potential. In particular, in countries such as Germany, Poland, Romania, the Netherlands, Moldova and Lithuania, which are among the top 10 largest markets that send tourists to Antalya, work has accelerated. We should also strive to attract tourists from countries such as Israel, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, where our bilateral relations have been developing recently,” said the head of the department.