German tour operators see surge in bookings to Turkey

By Abdulselam Durdak

FRANKFURT (AA) - German bookings for Turkey holidays in summer 2018 has almost doubled compared to last year’s figures, German tour operators have told Anadolu Agency.

“In 2018, we see Turkey’s comeback,” German Travel Association’s (DRV) spokeswoman Kerstin Heinen said, and added that bookings and sales revenues for summer 2018 have almost doubled.

A record 5.5 million German tourists visited Turkey in 2015, but their members dropped to 3.9 million in 2016, and 3.5 million in 2017, largely due to political tensions between Ankara and Berlin, and conflicts in countries neighboring Turkey.

Heinen stressed that this year Turkey has again become one of the most popular holiday destinations for German travelers.

But despite the impressive figures, the peak values of 2015 has not yet been reached, she noted.

Europe's largest holiday operator TUI Group also recorded significant increase in summer 2018 bookings to Turkey.

“Turkey has again become one of the most popular holiday destinations for German tourists and it is currently in the 3rd place,” TUI’s spokesperson Susanne Stunckel has said.

Germany’s tour operators have welcomed Turkey’s move to lift a two-year-old state of emergency, but noted that it would not make an immediate impact on the figures, as the main season is running already.

European Turkish Travel Agents Association’s (ATURSAB) President Guner Kizil said the end of state of emergency would likely have a positive impact on the numbers in the coming months.

“I believe that we will welcome more tourists from Germany this year, close to the figures of 2015,” he told Anadolu Agency.

Last week, Germany’s Foreign Ministry has relaxed its travel advice for Turkey, and noted that the state of emergency was lifted.

The Turkish government declared a state of emergency for the first time on July 20, 2016, following a foiled coup attempt.

Political relations between Ankara and Berlin suffered several setbacks in the past two years, but both sides took steps in the recent months towards normalization of ties.

EU heavyweight Germany remains Turkey’s main economic and trade partner, despite political disagreements between governments on a number of issues. In 2017, the bilateral trade volume reached €37.6 billion ($44.04 billion).