While the extension of the Eid al-Adha holiday increases activity in tourism, the travel volume is expected to reach 180 billion lira during the holiday.
In his statement to the AA correspondent, Firuz Baglikaya, President of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB), stated that they expect the extension of the Eid al-Adha holiday to have a positive impact on tourism movements and said, “The long holiday allows the mobility in the domestic market to be brought forward a little more. When we look at the reservations of our travel agencies, it seems that our citizens have a significant travel demand during this period.” he said.
Pointing out that extending the Eid al-Adha holiday to 9 days is an extremely valuable decision in terms of activating not only the tourism sector but also more than 50 sectors related to tourism, Bağlıkaya said, “We believe that this decision, taken in such a period when geopolitical developments that deeply affect world tourism are experienced, will contribute to the country’s economy. An early announcement of the extension of the Eid al-Adha holiday to 9 days will make the planning of both our travel agencies and our citizens easier.” he said.
Baglikaya stated that he thinks that the holiday period will constitute a good introduction to the season, especially by increasing the mobility in the domestic market, and said that the 9-day holiday will be a rehearsal of the season for the domestic market.
Stating that culture, nature, adventure and gastronomy travels are especially popular in the spring months, Bağlıkaya said, “Cultural tours are especially preferred during the holiday. However, due to the warm weather in this period, there is also a demand for coastal hotels in the southern regions. The demand is mainly concentrated in the Mediterranean, Aegean and TRNC destinations. Destinations such as Antalya, Muğla, Aydın, Izmir and Balıkesir are preferred in this context. For our citizens who prefer nature and thermal holidays, destinations such as Afyon and Sapanca are alternative destinations.” “The Black Sea, Cappadocia and GAP region are the regions with high demand in terms of nature and cultural tours.” he said.
“WE PROJECT 10 MILLION CITIZENS TO TRAVEL”
Firuz Bağlıkaya noted that Balkan tours stand out among the prominent destinations abroad because they offer visa-free travel opportunities, and stated that destinations such as Egypt, Greek Islands, Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Benelux, Greece, Japan, Bali, Thailand and America also attract attention.
Baglikaya stated that since the holiday period is before the season, it offers the opportunity to have a holiday at affordable prices compared to the summer months, and made the following evaluation:
“Domestic prices have increased by 25 percent compared to last year’s Eid period. Although prices abroad generally remain the same in terms of foreign currency, this year prices are at higher levels than last year because tour holiday periods have been extended. Domestically, hotel prices start from 1500 lira per person per night during Eid al-Adha. Prices vary depending on the location, star and facilities of the hotel. Especially hotels that provide free accommodation for 2 children are an important advantage for families. On average, 5 nights, 2 people are all-inclusive. Accommodations can be offered at prices starting from 30 thousand liras. Package prices abroad start from 150 euros per person for bus tours, and prices start from 450 euros per person for plane tours.
Regarding Eid visits, Bağlıkaya said, “We anticipate that 10 million citizens will travel during the Eid al-Adha holiday, when the visits to their hometowns and relatives are added. We expect approximately 2.5 million of these trips to be direct participation in domestic and international tourism activities. We estimate that the travels that will take place during this period will create an economic volume of approximately 180 billion liras.” he said.
Müberra Eresin, President of the Turkish Hoteliers Association (TÜROB), also stated that by extending the holiday to 9 days, both the city and the holiday regions will become livelier.
Stating that domestic tourists can choose a sea, sun and sand holiday, Eresin said:
“We expect the southern and Aegean coasts to be busier during the holiday. We predict that if the weather conditions in the holiday regions are unfavorable during the holiday, city hotels will be filled with cultural tours. Domestic tourists will want to travel a second time after the holiday, when the weather is better.”
