0
Only negligible decline expected in number of tourists to Turkey in 2009
Despite the general outlook on the negative impact of the financial crisis, the Turkish tourism industry will see a negligible decline in tourist numbers this year, according to Bülent İlbahar, head of the Kuşadası branch of the Turkish Association of Travel Agents (TÜRSAB).
As the adverse effects of the ongoing global financial crisis are increasingly felt by consumers, people from European countries have taken the precaution of cutting their tourism expenditures. İlbahar said on Monday that bookings were fewer this year compared to the same period in 2008. Our hotels may see a decline in visitors, he said, adding that the hotel booking rate has been 55 percent since the beginning of the year - it was 60 percent in 2008.
Underlining that the crisis has affected the economy of Russia, which sends the most tourists to Turkey, İlbahar noted that the number tourists from that country may be lower this year compared to the past few years. He said the number of tourists from the Netherlands however, would not fall since statistics show that people in the Netherlands do not change their vacation plans even during the worst crises.
The number of tourists travelling to Turkey in the first two months of the year declined to 1.65 million, a 1.7 percent drop compared to the same period in 2008, according to tourism figures for January and February released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Monday. Germany sent the highest number of tourists to Turkey during the first two months of this year, with 144,709, while Bulgaria came in second, with 90,018, followed by Georgia, the UK, Russia and France.
Latest Comments: