Turkey risks losing a significant part of the tourist flow this year due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, which will seriously aggravate the financial situation of the entire hospitality industry. Such forecasts were shared by representatives of the tourism industry, Turkish media write.
Russia and Ukraine are respectively the first and third markets in terms of tourist flow to Turkey in 2021, and it is on these two directions that the main bet is made in the upcoming season. Now many representatives of the tourist industry may find themselves in an extremely difficult financial situation.
“Industry participants planned to make money this year, but due to the war in Ukraine, it will be very difficult for them to do so,” said Osman Ayik, tourism adviser to the Antalya governor. “They need support. Hoteliers have past deferred debt that they planned to pay off this year. The industry needs operational support now, but so far there are no moves in this direction.”
According to Aiyk, this year the province of Antalya will be able to receive only 6-7 million tourists. This is at least 2 million less than arrived in 2021.
At the same time, the total tourist flow to Turkey from Russia and Ukraine amounted to about 6 million tourists last year: 4.5 million came from Russia and 1.3 million from Ukraine. There will simply be no one to replace such a volume, even the domestic market, says Serdar Karcilioglu, president of the Association of Professional Hotel Managers of Bodrum. Accommodation prices in liras have risen strongly since the beginning of the year due to the collapse of the national currency, as well as rising costs for hoteliers due to higher food and electricity prices.
“For a domestic tourist, prices are now high. The industry also does not have the opportunity to lower them further, we have already become the center of cheap holidays for the whole world. Domestic tourists, who are the salvation of the sector in every crisis, will not be able to help the industry this year,” said Serdar Kargioglu.
Korhan Alshan, CEO of Nirvana Hotels, part of the Kilit Hospitality Group, agrees that a massive tourist flow from the two most important markets this year cannot be counted on. Now the entire hospitality industry needs significant credit support on comfortable terms.
“We won’t see tourists from Ukraine for a long time, and there are extensive sanctions on Russia. Serious uncertainty has arisen in the market. Therefore, the sector needs urgent credit support to pay off the debts that have been deferred and survive the current period,” the expert said.