Tourism Day in Antalya

Many families, who postponed their holidays for a long time due to the pandemic, preferred Antalya during the 5-day Bayram holiday with the weekend. Between 30 and 50 percent of the total capacity of the hotels was filled with domestic market, and 30 percent with tourists from foreign markets. The activity experienced pleased the tourism professionals.

Ferit Turgut, Chairman of the Mediterranean Region Representative Board of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB), stated that the occupancy rate in hotels and hostels in Antalya is high and said, “All sectors get a share. It was a serious start to the season. It was a morale boost for everyone,” he said.
BOOKING MORALE

Nirvana Hotels Group CEO Korhan Alşan also said that there is activity in the domestic market in hotels: “The total capacity of the hotels has been filled with the domestic market by 30-50 percent. Around 30 percent of the remaining capacity was filled with foreign markets. Antalya region reached 60-80 percent occupancy rates. The season is just starting. During this period, the demand in the domestic market is normally low. I saw above my expectation for a short vacation. I attribute this to the fact that COVID-19 has fallen off the agenda. The coincidence of the holiday date with the fall of COVID from the agenda created a double holiday psychology in the holiday consumer. There was an accumulated longing in people. Reservations in the domestic market are 10 to 20 percent higher than even 2019.”

DIFFICULT TURN

Millions of citizens, who went to their hometowns or holiday regions due to the Ramadan Feast, filled the roads on the last day of the 5-day holiday.

In Kırıkkale, which is located at the crossing point of 43 provinces and is called a 'key intersection' in transportation, long vehicle queues have formed due to the holiday returns. Traffic on the Ankara-Samsun highway came to a standstill from time to time. Citizens who spend their holidays in tourism centers such as Bozcaada and Assos in Çanakkale, as well as on the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, also concentrated in Çanakkale. Some of the holidaymakers who wanted to cross the Dardanelles Strait preferred the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge and some preferred the ferries. Congestion occurred at the ferry port. There were queues at the TEM Highway Kocaeli crossing, especially since noon yesterday. Traffic teams were also on watch for the safe movement of vehicles on the roads.

Source: Hurriyet