Gelisim News

The numbers of tourists coming with early booking exceeds 10 millions

The Academic Member Dr. Fatma Özçelik Heper from the Tourism Guiding Department of the Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences of the Istanbul Gelisim University indicated that the early booking demand coming from abroad at current period has exceeded 10 million.

The tourism sector that has been going a substantially hard and difficult period as a result of the pandemic started to experience a period of mobilization together with the lifting of the PCR test obligation.  The (travel) agencies facing an intensive early booking reservation demand especially for the summer season beginning from the last October onward were considerably happy with this circumstance. However, the matter indicating that how the uncertainty in markets as a result of the tension between Russia and Ukraine, experience on the recent days will reflect itself into the tourism sector is an issue of concern.

The Academic Member Dr. Fatma Özçelik Heper from the Tourism Guiding Department of the Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences of the Istanbul Gelisim University, who made evaluations with relation to the tourism (sector) growing in the shade of the pandemic said: ‘’The safety and hygiene guarantee, given by Turkey, to the tourists increased the confidence of the tourist in our country. The early reservation demand coming from abroad currently exceeded 10 million. As a consequence, we have an expectation towards the fact that we may complete the tourism season in 2022 with the same numbers, achieved in the years of 2018 and 2019. However, since the crisis between Russia and Ukraine turned into a hot conflict, we will witness how it will reflect itself into the sector in the forthcoming periods.’’

THE TARGET OF THE MINISTRY FOR 2028 IS 100 MILLIONS OF TOURISTS

The tourism sector that is considerably sensitive and fragile, in the meantime, shows changes subject to political tensions as well. Notwithstanding that this change causes some kinds of variations in the numbers of foreign tourists, promising increases are experienced in international tourism demands. The Academic Member Dr. Fatma Özçelik Heper, who indicated that the power of competition at the tourism sector, had to be successful in domestic market before all else, indicated as follows: ‘’the domestic tourists, who saved the sector during the pandemic, will never have to be pushed into the second rank in any period. The tourism professionals have been aware of the fact that the domestic tourism keeping the sector on its feet during the process of the pandemic is considerably   important and crucial. This matter causes the diversification of the types of tourism, owned by Turkey, such as gastronomy, culture, mountain-winter tourism as well as health tourism and so on.’’ 

The Ministry of Tourism indicated that a brighter tourism sector was expected with the effect of the pandemic weakening after the post-2023. At the same time, the aim of the Ministry for 2028 is to host 100 millions of tourists.

LAW ON TOURISM PROFESSION IS TO BE ENACTED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

Notwithstanding that the rising food and energy prices disturb both the domestic tourists and tourism entrepreneurs, promising and encouraging rises are experienced in international tourism demands. In the meantime, it is thought that the people, who could not go abroad as a result of fluctuations in the foreign exchange rates, will create mobility in domestic tourism.
Mrs. Heper, who emphasized that it was necessary to enact the “Law on Tourism Profession” before all else, in order to bring the qualified workforce that was shifted into other sectors during the pandemic period, again back to the tourism sector, further added that it was necessary for the tourism sector to be sustainable rather than development of it on quantitative basis.