Erkan Yagci, President of the Mediterranean Touristic Hoteliers and Operators Union, said, “Antalya became one of the leading cities in the world, especially by starting the tourism movement last year. As of the end of September, it hosted twice as many tourists as Spain’s Majorca Islands, which we see as the closest competitor. While they hosted 3.5 million tourists, we reached 8.5 million.”
Attracting tourists from all over the world, Antalya was the destination that hosted the most tourists among the tourism regions in the Mediterranean this year.
Serving in tourism with a bed capacity of 680 thousand, Antalya hosted 8 million 616 thousand people in 10 months. Despite the new type of coronavirus, the city has attracted tourists from more than 60 countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Kazakhstan, Romania, Netherlands, England, especially with the lifting of travel restrictions.
Antalya, the address of “healthy tourism” with the Safe Tourism Certificate Program, was the city that hosted the most tourists compared to its foreign competitors in the Mediterranean region this year.
Erkan Yagci, President of the Mediterranean Touristic Hoteliers and Operators Union, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the tourism industry has shown the world that safe tourism can be made under epidemic conditions as a result of the work carried out in public and private cooperation.
Stating that they plan to close the year with more than 9 million tourists as Antalya, Yagci stated that they had a much better season than last year.
Emphasizing that one of the most important tools of success in this period is the Safe Tourism Certificate Program, Yagci stated that despite the epidemic, the guests gave the message that they could have a safe and enjoyable holiday thanks to the program.
Yagci pointed out that thanks to this message, Antalya was placed in the first place among its competitors in the world, and said:
“Antalya became one of the leading cities in the world, especially by starting the tourism movement last year. As of the end of September, it hosted twice as many tourists as Spain’s Majorca Islands, which we see as its closest rival. While they hosted 3.5 million tourists, we reached 8.5 million. Here, both the public and the private sector have a very important effort and belief in tourism. It was an important success to be able to start the tourism movement and make it sustainable during the epidemic period. I think we’ve accomplished that.”
“ANTALYA IS ON THE PATH TO BE THE WORLD LEADER”
Ulkay Atmaca, President of Professional Hotel Managers Association, said that tourists continue to come to the city.
Emphasizing that they plan to have a better winter season than last year, Atmaca reported that 2022 reservations are currently going well.
Explaining that more than 8.5 million tourists who came to the city left Antalya happily, Atmaca noted that this was achieved with the measures taken in cooperation with the public and private sectors.
Noting that Antalya has the title of the city that attracts the most tourists not only in Turkey but also among its foreign competitors, Atmaca said, “Antalya is on its way to becoming a world leader. It is one of the cities that host the most tourists. So are we as a country. We started late but recovered quickly. We’re in a pretty good position.”
“WE PASSED THE STRONG COMPETITOR SPAIN”
NBK Touristic General Manager Recep Yavuz stated that 2021, which is seen as the year of the tourism world going back to the past, witnessed radical changes.
Noting that in this process, the countries that can take the right measures and explain it to the world come to the fore, Yavuz noted that the countries that are insufficient in this regard are even looking for 2020.
Citing Spain as an example, Yavuz said that Spain, which ranked first in the world with the highest number of tourists in 2019, could not recover, and that Turkey surpassed Spain with its numbers in Antalya.
Yavuz stated that Greece, which is one of the important competitors, could not reach the numbers expected in tourist arrivals due to the inadequacy of its health infrastructure, “According to the ranking of countries, Turkey ranked first, Spain second and Greece ranked third. We passed the strong rival Spain during the epidemic process. It has been difficult to take the leadership, it is more important to be sustainable.”
Source: Sabah / Translated by Irem Yildiz