Türkiye's tourism sector feeling pinch of Gaza conflict, say insiders

Tourists enjoy leisure time at the beach in Antalya, Türkiye, Nov. 7, 2023.(Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

by Burak Akinci

ANKARA, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's major tourism hub Antalya is feeling the pinch of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza, and industry insiders have expressed concern that the fallout from the conflict could spread to other regional countries and subsequently to their pillar industries.

Antalya in southern Türkiye, boasting hundreds of resorts along the Mediterranean coast, receives millions of foreign visitors each year.

However, some half a million Israeli, Jordanian and Lebanese holidaymakers had canceled their trips to Antalya over the Gaza crisis, Murat Toktas, vice president of the Turkish Hoteliers Federation, told Xinhua.

Toktas said he is not really concerned about the loss of tourists from the Middle East but rather about its contagion effect on European countries, where the bulk of Türkiye's foreign visitors come from.

"People are uneasy about a conflict that is raging near Türkiye ... This has caused potential travelers to wait and see how the situation develops, therefore early bookings have stagnated," he said, adding the Gaza conflict "will affect the next season negatively."

This aerial photo taken on Aug. 14, 2023 shows tourists enjoying themselves at Goynuk Canyon in Kemer District, Antalya Province, Türkiye. Goynuk Canyon is a beautiful natural wonder with huge trees, waterfalls and pools. (Mustafa Kaya/Handout via Xinhua)

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu agency on Sunday, Türkiye's Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy also confirmed a fallout, which he claimed is "due to Türkiye's geographical location."

Esra Demir, an Ankara-based travel agent, echoed the view, saying Türkiye would inevitably be affected by the prolonged regional conflict, "even though Türkiye is hundreds of kilometers away from the conflicting zone."

She noted that some reservations for Antalya resorts next March and April had been canceled due to the Gaza crisis, while early bookings have also slowed down.

Holidaymakers in search of winter sun may hesitate to travel to countries with geographical proximity to the conflict as they think "the conflict is taking place at the doorstep of Türkiye."

To boost tourism, Türkiye is set to launch a new booking campaign in December to lure tourists to a range of different destinations, Firuz Baglikaya, president of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, announced last week.

According to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute on Oct. 31, Türkiye had earned 41.9 billion U.S. dollars in tourism revenues in the first nine months of 2023.

The country aims to make a tourism turnover of 56 billion dollars throughout this year, a possible goal despite geopolitical headwinds, said Toktas.