July 25, 2017•Update: July 25, 2017
By Erbil Basay
BERLIN
German tour operators are recording strong demand for Turkey this summer, despite political disagreements between Berlin and Ankara.
TUI, the country’s biggest tour operator, on Tuesday said demand for last-minute travel to Turkey had increased recently.
“Many tourists decide to travel to Turkey because of the significantly lower prices for a holiday there compared with other destinations. They also have many more alternatives when choosing a hotel,” Bernd Hoffmann, a TUI spokesman, told Anadolu Agency.
Amid recent political tensions between Germany and Turkey, Berlin last week unveiled several economic measures intended to increase pressure on Ankara as well as urging its citizens to exercise caution when travelling to Turkey.
However, according to the TUI, this move has not had a major impact on bookings for Turkey so far.
“The [German] Foreign Ministry has amended the travel and security information for Turkey, but it did not issue a travel warning,” Hoffman said, adding that German tourists were travelling to Turkey as usual.
-Positive trend
Songul Goktas-Rosati, managing-director of Oger Tours, said there had been a “positive trend” especially in last-minute travel packages, compared with last year.
“Turkey offers everything a perfect holiday destination requires: wonderful hotels; very hospitable people; long sandy beaches; beautiful bays; a rich culture and excellent food,” she said.
FTI Group, another leading tour operator, also voiced optimism for a rise in demand for Turkey.
“Currently we have a double-digit percentage increase in sales and visitors, compared with the previous year,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
The German Foreign Ministry's updated travel advice for Turkey did not change the group’s holiday offers for its customers.
“We do not observe any deep concern among our customers, nor a major change in their booking behaviors, since the Foreign Ministry updated its travel information,” a spokeswoman for the company said.
“Many of our customers know Turkey quite well and they love the country, and would enjoy their holiday there,” she added.
Turkey is one of the most popular travel destinations for German holidaymakers, but the number of visitors declined in the last two years, largely due to safety concerns and conflicts in countries neighboring Turkey.
In 2016, 3.9 million German tourists traveled to Turkey.
