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Tourism season has been extended in Antalya

The tourism season in Antalya has extended until mid-November, especially with reservations from Western European countries. According to the data of the first week of September, the number of tourists exceeded 11 million 350 thousand.

Although there are some problems in Antalya tourism this year, the data on the number of incoming tourists remains above 2019, which is considered a ‘record year’.

The city, which hosted more than 15.5 million tourists in 2019, aims to break the 2019 record at the end of the year, especially with the increase in bookings since July.

Occupancy increased after July

Ismail Caglar, general manager of a five-star hotel in Kundu, pointed out the beginning of this year’s tourism season and said that they could not receive the expected reservations, especially in May and June, due to reasons such as the election atmosphere and economic problems in other countries.

Noting that the establishments that have achieved the price-benefit balance for the months of July, August and September do not have any problems in terms of occupancy, Caglar said, “There were some reservation difficulties depending on the regions, especially in the upper segment, high-priced facilities targeting A and A plus tourists. We actually expected this month to be a bit weak, but high occupancy levels were achieved thanks to last minute reservations and general price adjustments.”

“Ukraine was replaced by Poland and, to some extent, the British market.”

Pointing out that weak markets were replaced by other markets, Caglar said, “To give an example, Ukraine was replaced by Poland and a little bit by the British market, and our deficiencies there were eliminated. This year is going pleasantly, and the good weather also supports this situation. Currently, last minute reservations are pleasing and our occupancy rates have increased. October also looks good, the indicators already showed themselves in August.”

Season extended until November 15

Expressing that it is seen that the season will extend until November 15, depending on the climatic conditions, Ismail Caglar noted that it will then be supported with meeting groups and other alternative tourism types such as sports and health.

Stating that nearly 11.5 million tourists were hosted as of the first week of September, Caglar said, “This is a very good figure, we have also recovered the occupancy in hotels. I think we will crown this year with a figure of 15-16 million at the end of the year. We are now looking at the next year as well.”

“We hosted a high number of guests from the Middle East”

Caglar stated that the occupancy rate in their own facilities is currently 70%, and in some hotels it is up to 90%, and made the following evaluation:

“Opening schools has some disadvantages, but guest groups over a certain age will come. Especially our guests from England and Western Europe are gaining ground. We also hosted a high number of guests from the Middle East this year. Especially Kundu and Lara regions received a significant number of guests from the Middle East due to their proximity to the city. When the guest we expected from Russia did not come, he made up for this deficiency. The holiday habits and behavior of guests from the Middle East are also different. They mostly spend time at the hotel. They are also good at shopping. We also hear this from our tradesmen friends in our region, we know that they make everyone from taxi shop to restaurant shop happy.”

Source: Trthaber / Prepared by Irem Yildiz

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