Tourism sector calls for extension of Eid holiday

Kaan Kaşif Kavaloğlu, President of the Mediterranean Touristic Hoteliers and Operators Association (AKTOB), stated that despite a decline in tourism in the first quarter of the year, there was a recovery in April. Kavaloğlu said, "We closed the 20 percent gap in April and had a good start to the season."

TOURISM SEASON AND HOLIDAY PERIODS

This year, the tourism season began with Eid al-Fitr and continued with Easter. Kavaloğlu noted, "The reason March was poor was that Easter shifted from March to April." In May, there was activity due to important holidays such as the Dutch King's Day and the Russian independence week.

COMBINATION OF EID AL-ADHA AND PFINGSTEN

Kavaloğlu stated that the combination of the Eid al-Adha holiday and the Pfingsten holiday offers a long vacation opportunity, especially for Turks living in Europe. "Turks living in Europe prefer to take vacations by combining these holiday periods," he said.

18 MILLION TOURIST TARGET

Kavaloğlu expressed that they expect activity in the domestic market as well if the Eid al-Adha holiday is extended to 9 days. Stating that the number of tourists arriving in Antalya exceeded 2 million 300 thousand as of May 5, Kavaloğlu said they are targeting 18 million tourists this year.

RUSSIAN MARKET AND OTHER MARKETS

İsmail Çağlar, general manager of a 5-star hotel operating in the Belek region, stated that the Russian market revived in May and that Russian tourists are the group staying the most in hotels. Çağlar said, "Extending the Eid al-Adha holiday will have a positive effect on domestic tourism."

Stating that he believes Turkey will reach its target of 65 million tourists and 64 billion dollars in revenue, Çağlar drew attention to the importance of tourists coming from different markets. "We work with many markets such as North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Europe, and Eastern Europe," he added.