A strong recovery in hotel bookings in Turkey has been led by a sharp return in British tourists, according to Hotelbeds Group.
Travellers from the UK have become the single largest source of bookings to Turkey via the Hotelbeds Group platform.
The overall total transaction value of reservations of Turkish accommodation through the platform has increased by 40% year-on-year since October 1.
The country has also improved its position from ranking 11th to ranking 9th as the most booked destination in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.
This marked recovery can also be seen in both average prices and hotel occupancy rates, with the average rate per night staying stable at around €50 and total room nights growing in line with TTV at around 40%.
The turnaround follows a period of political upheaval and terrorist attacks in Turkey.
The bookings boost has led the group to review its portfolio of hotels and contract additional properties, with plans to add a further 400 ahead of summer 2018.
A preference for urban destinations has also been revealed, with Istanbul and the Antalya region most in demand.
Sam Turner, responsible for sales and sourcing, said: “Since the beginning of the new financial year on October 1, we have noticed a clear recovery of Turkey as a destination for all of our group’s businesses, including Tourico Holidays and GTA that have recently joined us.
“This increase of tourists has in large part come from the return of the British traveller to Turkey.
“We feel this is due to the general travelling public feeling that stability has once again returned to the country.
“However, other source markets such as Saudi Arabia and Iran have grown strongly, and whilst the numbers are much smaller we have nonetheless seen a doubling in the number of Spaniards reserving hotels for the destination.
“This has allowed us to increase not only the number of room nights but also the total volume of sales for the destination by 40% compared to the same period last year.
“This recovery in Turkey as a destination brings us great pleasure as we have a long history of partnering successfully with many leading hotels in this great country that has so much to offer travelers – and we look forward to forging further relationships with new hotel partners as we seek additional properties to respond to this growing demand.”