Turkey's military intervention has consequences for the country's tourism.
Several Swedish travel companies tell TT that the fighting in Syria has led to a decrease in interest in travel, including in connection with the upcoming autumn holidays.
The Turkish offensive in Syria has drawn international criticism. But it also appears to have consequences for Turkey's tourism, one of the country's most important sources of income.
A survey conducted by TT among various Swedish travel agents indicates that there is once again concern among Swedish travelers about bookings to Turkey.
Ving says it sees a slight slowdown in bookings for next summer, which the company says is natural during times of unrest. However, it is too early to draw any conclusions about how this will affect bookings, according to Ving.
A change has also been noticed on trips to Turkey.
”"We are seeing a slightly reduced demand. There is not quite the same pressure when it comes to bookings for autumn holiday trips. At the same time, we have had minimal cancellations," says CEO Anders Lindström and continues:
”Generally when events like this occur, we notice that we get several inquiries from customers who have a trip booked or are thinking about traveling and they wonder if it is safe.”
Currently, Turkey Travel has 700 Swedish tourists in place, but both Ving and Turkey Travel point out that classic travel destinations such as Antalya are far from the border with Syria, where the fighting is ongoing.
The travel period to Turkey is also approaching its final phase, with the last trips from Sweden taking place during the autumn holidays and then resuming on a larger scale next year. A prolonged conflict could theoretically hit tourism, which has just recovered from a sharp decline following the 2016 terrorist attacks and coup attempt.
In the second quarter of this year, the country's tourism revenue rose 13.2 percent to $7.97 billion, of which 87 percent of the revenue came from foreign tourists, according to the website Trading Economics.
For competitive reasons, travel companies do not want to state the number of Swedes who have traveled to Turkey, but according to the travel barometer that Vagabond magazine does every year, 192,000 trips to the country were booked in 2018, an increase from 113,000 the year before but at the same time far from the record figure in 2013 of 728,000 trips.
The country's tourism has also recently been hit by the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook, which according to representatives of the country's hotel organization could mean 600,000–700,000 fewer tourists next year.
Turkey's tourism minister recently announced that low-cost airline Easyjet will increase its capacity to Turkey. However, it remains to be seen how things will develop next year.
”"It's difficult to draw too many conclusions when it comes to travel. We haven't released our program for 2020 yet," says Anders Lindström, CEO of Turkey Travel, and points out that there are several factors at play.
”"It's also about the fact that, for example, other countries are reducing their tourism and where the companies will fly to instead, as well as currency changes. But what you can say is that in terms of currency, you've gotten a lot for your money in Turkey."”
Time:TT
