Neilson is pulling two of its Beachclubs in Turkey for this summer following a drop in demand for the destination.
The activity specialist has operated four beachclubs in Turkey for the last couple of years but will now only open the Phokaia Beachclub in Foca and the Seaside Beachclub in Ortakent.
The Andriake Beachclub in Demre and the Adakoy Beachclub near Marmaris, as well as its small yacht fleet based in Adakoy, will no longer feature in the summer 2016 programme.
The move directly affects around 600 bookings already made for the two beachclubs. Customers are being offered an alternative Neilson holiday or the chance to cancel without any financial penalty. The company said: “Many customers are choosing to immediately move their holiday to one of Neilson’s other Turkey destinations.”
Local staff employed at the two beachclubs affected are also at risk of redundancy. In a statement, the company added: “Sadly it is inevitable that with Andriake and Adakoy clubs not operating for summer 2016, Neilson’s locally employed Turkish staff are at risk of redundancy. However, Neilson has the potential to offer them alternative positions at its other Turkish resorts.”
Only recently the operator produced a standalone e-brochure for Andriake – its first for an individual beachclub – because it was its most popular club last summer.
Chief executive Richard Bowden-Doyle, who recently admitted that the operator was having to reconsider its capacity in Turkey, said: “Whilst Turkey remains a popular destination for UK holidaymakers, in common with other travel companies, we have seen lower demand this year.
“Our holidays are at their best when the clubs are busy with guests enjoying the full range of activities on offer, so where we have seen fewer bookings we have acted quickly to ensure our guests will get the holiday experience they expect.
“We will now concentrate our activities this year into our longer standing Turkey clubs, Phokaia and Seaside, which have particularly loyal followings, alongside our six Greek clubs and our Greek yacht fleet, which continue to be extremely popular. We are sorry for the disruption to our customers’ holiday arrangements but are hopeful that they will rebook with us at another Neilson club.”
He added that Greece continued to trade well for this summer and “in line with expectations”. The tour operator has fewer holidays left to sell overall than at this time last year.
Neilson would not reveal its plans for 2017 at this stage. Its Beachclub line-up is expected to go on sale in August for next year.
Neilson’s rival Mark Warner pulled out of Turkey last month after six years.