Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy speaks at the Tourism Investment Forum in Istanbul, Turkey, May 16, 2022. The occupancy rates of Turkey's hotels have been rapidly rising since April, especially in Istanbul, the country's financial and cultural hub, bringing higher expectations for the summer months, according to industry professionals. (Xinhua/Shadati)
ISTANBUL, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The occupancy rates of Turkey's hotels have been rapidly rising since April, especially in Istanbul, the country's financial and cultural hub, bringing higher expectations for the summer months, according to industry professionals.
Muberra Eresin, president of the Hotel Association of Turkey, told Xinhua that the hotels in Istanbul, a city of more than 16 million people, saw 70-percent occupancy in May, and the figure is expected to surpass 85 percent in the summer months.
Eresin noted that the occupancy in Cappadocia in central Anatolia, famous for its fairy chimneys, underground settlements, and historical monasteries carved into rocks, has also been increasing, close to Istanbul's figures since the beginning of April.
"As of the end of May, the hotels in Antalya, Bodrum, and Marmaris will also start to fill up gradually," Eresin noted.
Antalya, located on the sunny shores of the Mediterranean coast full of wide beaches, is the most visited province by foreign travellers in Turkey after Istanbul, while Bodrum and Marmaris, holiday resorts in the southwestern province of Mugla, attract domestic and foreign scuba divers to their unique dive spots.
Eresin believes that a tourism boom will start as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is fading.
"We think the rise (in the number of tourists) will continue at this pace in the upcoming period. And Turkey will be one of the countries that will get the most share from the world tourism cake ... for its cultural and natural beauties," she said.
To further strengthen the country's tourism industry and lure more local and foreign investments, the Turkish Tourism Investors Association (TTYD) organized Tourism Investment Forum on Monday in Istanbul, a second of its kind.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the forum, Oya Narin, head of the TTYD, said Turkey has hosted 600 million people in the last 30 years and is preparing to welcome 2 billion travellers in the next 30 years.
"The studies and calculations we have made reveal that the country's tourism will continue to grow, and it will soon double the current figures," Narin remarked.
For her, Turkey is a global player in world tourism with its 1.8 million accommodation capacity.
Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said Istanbul has great potential for the future especially in terms of cruise tourism, which would greatly help boost the tourism sector, including the accommodation industry.
"The goal of making Istanbul the first cruise destination in Europe in 2024 or 2025 is not far away. Many cruise operators have started to talk about Istanbul as the main destination. Very soon, Istanbul will become one of the few home ports of the world," he told the participants at the forum.
According to the minister, tourists who will come for cruise tourism will be able to experience the gastronomy, shopping, and cultural and artistic riches of Istanbul by staying for a few days in the city.
The government has set a target of 42 million tourists and 35 billion U.S. dollars in tourism income for 2022. Last year the country earned 24.5 billion dollars from 30 million tourists amid the global pandemic. ■
Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy speaks at the Tourism Investment Forum in Istanbul, Turkey, May 16, 2022. The occupancy rates of Turkey's hotels have been rapidly rising since April, especially in Istanbul, the country's financial and cultural hub, bringing higher expectations for the summer months, according to industry professionals. (Xinhua/Shadati)
