TURKEY’S tourism industry is keeping an optimistic outlook that tourism levels will make a strong recovery in the near future.
The country has been beset by problems, the latest of which was the earthquake that hit the industrial town of Izmit.
As the scale of the tragedy became evident, there was little the tourist office could do but confirm most of the country’s resorts in the south were safe.
Due to the combined effects of the earthquake, the war in Kosovo and fears over PKK terrorist activity, the Turkish Tourist Office in London reported overall visitor figures for 1999 could drop by some 12% to 900,000.
But the TTO remains upbeat. Director Savas Kuce said: “We firmly believe the best way of coping with this terrible tragedy is to look to the future. The future of Turkey lies in tourism.”
Turkey’s Mediterranean and Aegean resorts are more than 500 miles away from the disaster area in the northeast of the country. But the outskirts of Istanbul were hit badly, and though the city’s sights were reportedly not damaged, power cuts gave both visitors and operators cause for concern.
Travelscene had 13 clients in Istanbul at the time of the earthquake. “Fortunately, we have a full-time ground operator in the city who was able to visit all of the hotels,” said Travelscene product manager Nina Swift.
“He checked that they were suitably equipped for any emergencies and put our clients in constant e-mail or mobile phone contact.”
Travelscene has stopped taking bookings for Istanbul, though it expects to resume in October. Existing bookings are being reviewed case by case – clients have the option to either cancel the booking without charge, or switch to another location.
“We think it is important to push on with travel to Turkey, but we understand people don’t want to go to Istanbul and be seen as voyeurs,” said Swift.
But the TTO insists the centre of Istanbul is not damaged, and is still receiving visitors. Cox and Kings had a large tour party going to Istanbul this month.
“We took the initiative to cancel the trip, as we felt many of our customers would not like to go through with it. We offered a full refund, or the option to swap to another holiday,” said product manager Hugh Fraser.
Demand for Cox and Kings tours has remained relatively buoyant, but Istanbul is the exception.
“We used to receive several enquiries a day for Istanbul tours. These have dried up altogether,” said Fraser. “Visitor figures for the year will probably be down by around 15%.
“It’s a little too early to say whether discounts will be offered. But it is a possibility in the next couple of months.”
The TTO accepts that the earthquake is the latest in a series of major setbacks. Following the explosion of a PKKbomb in February, some operators reported decreases in bookings of up to 40%.
Tapestry has seen a mixed reaction to the situation. Of its clients who had booked previously for Istanbul, four switched their flights to the south of the country while 12 carried on with their original plans. Tapestry is now offering discounts of £100 and reports that bookings to the south of the country remain strong.
Any further doubts will have to be addressed by a forthcoming advertising campaign. A high-profile television campaign, supported by national press, co-operative adverts with tour operators, as well as roadshows, gets started at World Travel Market in November.
The official advertising budget will be set at an estimated £3m in October, and could be almost five times as large as 1999’s total of £700,000.
Advertising alone is unlikely to bring tourists back in the numbers that were hoped for. The millennium, however, might help.
“The year 2000 will see a strong recovery as a large number of people will visit Turkey’s many religious sights,” said a TTO spokeswoman. “Visitor levels will definitelybe up on 1999; maybe as high as 1998’s 1m,” she added.