Kemer is a resort in the Turkish province of Antalya, in the 2022 season, hard times await. The number of Ukrainian and Russian tourists, previously up to 70% of visitors to Kemer, has fallen sharply. The resort expects to reduce the tourist flow by at least half. At the same time, the number of those who migrated to the resort regularly – primarily Ukrainians and Russians – has increased many times, which has led to a sharp rise in prices for buying and renting apartments and villas. And this, in turn, brings new problems to the resort.
According to Kemer Mayor Najati Topaloglu, up to 70% of tourists who come to the resort are usually Ukrainians and Russians. But due to the war, the number of tourists is projected to drop by at least half this summer. “In Kemer, where 6 million tourists come every year, this year their number will drop to 3 million people,” he said.
Basically, according to him, now Russian tourists use the “translation” route Moscow – Sochi – Istanbul – Antalya. And the road by plane increased from 3 hours to 6 hours.
As a result, hotel occupancy in the Kemer area has dropped to a catastrophically low level of 40-50%, Mr. Topaloglu added. At the same time, there are no problems in hotels that are focused on European markets.
“Currently, the hotels have the most tourists from Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Lithuania, and Estonia. We expect 3 million this year,” he said.
Kemer has other problems. “Wealthy Ukrainians and Russians came to Kemer for permanent residence. As a result, housing prices and rents have risen perhaps 10 times. As a result, hotel workers cannot afford to rent accommodation,” the mayor said, adding that this problem is common in the whole of Antalya. In general, the popular resort of Turkey has announced the onset of difficult times.