Turkey is expected to have a worse year than usual when it comes to holiday expectations. On the Beach founder Simon Cooper says no amount of discount will improve Turkey’s image.
With its location and perception of links to terrorism, as well as being a flow through for refugees, and its proximity to Syria; even with extreme discounts, holidaymakers are very unlikely to travel to Turkey even if Spain and other warm weather destinations are full up.
People in the industry seem surprised at the drop in tourism to Turkey in comparison with Egypt and Tunisia, with the government warnings and recent terrorist attacks. The only way potential customers will feel comfortable going back to Turkey is if there are no more terrorist attacks, and as that is something that cannot be guaranteed or predicted, people will continue to avoid the destination.
In light of the recent attacks, and the public’s perception of Turkey, the destination may struggle with tourism for a few years. Even though flights still continue to allow layovers, etc., in the country, very few people are staying to visit. As of the moment there hasn’t been a ban on travel to the country, but in the UK the consensus is that it is not a safe place to go.
For Turkey, it looks as if they may have to settle in and get used to the huge impact the terrorist attack has had on the image they had worked very hard to build, as well as the loss of revenue from tourism.