Turkish tourism remains strong through summer despite regional conflicts

Türkiye’s tourism sector remained strong this summer, navigating regional conflicts and geopolitical risks to maintain a strong visitor count this year, the chair of the Turkish Travel Agencies’ Association (TURSAB) told Anadolu.

Firuz Baglikaya stated that Türkiye remained a stable vacation destination despite escalating tensions in neighboring countries, with Russia, Germany and the UK making up the primary source markets of Turkish tourism.

“Türkiye stands like an oasis amid so much turmoil and continues to maintain this status in its tourism sector,” he said.

Baglikaya noted the need to further develop Türkiye’s cultural, gastronomic and business tourism sectors without reducing beach capacity due to the traditional appeal of coasts.

He stated that health tourism gained massive momentum over the past 10 years.

“We’ve seen progress gradually continuing in conference tourism, as well,” he said.

He warned against foreign digital travel platforms, urging lawmakers to ensure a level playing field.

“Everyone has really suffered in Europe due to these issues and they’re imposing heavy fines on these platforms — we must avoid legal regulations that could work against those operating in Türkiye or provide them with an advantage,” he noted.

Baglikaya stated that the association aims to actively lobby against policies that would otherwise cede control of the tourism sector to foreign entities when parliament reconvenes in October.

“It’s extremely wrong to hand this sector over to foreigners because they will sell or won’t sell when they feel like so, as all of this is possible in the digital environment,” he said.

He added that TURSAB’s centralized Digital Verification System helps customers verify their bookings in case they are from illegal and unlicensed operators.