Touristic facilities in the southwestern Turkish resort town of Muğla, which completed all preparations as part of the new COVID-19 measures, began hosting the first groups of Ukrainian tourists who say they feel safe in the country and are mesmerized by the beauty of its Mediterranean and Aegean coasts.
The first group of tourists from Ukraine, a total of 350 vacationers, landed in Muğla on April 28. The group will spend about two weeks in the tourist hot spots in Fethiye and Marmaris.
All kinds of measures were taken in the region against the spread of COVID-19 and it was ensured that there will be no compromises in the facilities. Visitors in the hotels and blue-flagged beaches are allowed to enter the sea and the pool and move around in sunbathing areas in accordance with the social-distancing rules.
"I especially admire Marmaris. I spend my holidays in Muğla and I love it," Tatyana Skrayvien, one of the tourists, told Anadolu Agency (AA) while praising the measures taken against COVID-19. "We feel safe here."
Natali Suveyt, another Ukrainian tourist, said they chose Muğla for a pleasant holiday. "This is my seventh visit to Turkey. It leads among the countries that are fighting against the coronavirus."
Dimitri Movcan has come to Muğla for the first time with his family. "Muğla is an ideal place for vacation ... I'm excited."
Cengiz Tuğrul Ayaz, the director-general of YDA Dalaman Airport, an international airport and one of the three serving southwest Turkey, said most of the tourists visiting the city each year are from the United Kingdom, Russia and Ukraine.
"We expect 8,500 Ukrainian tourists in the region up until May 17," he said.
Around 160,000 Ukrainian passengers are expected to arrive in Dalaman during the holiday season according to bookings, he added.
Turkey was the No. 1 choice for Ukrainian tourists in 2020 as well, thanks to its sanitary holiday opportunities during the coronavirus, new data revealed earlier.
According to a report by the Mediterranean Touristic Hoteliers Association (AKTOB), 750,000 Ukrainians traveled overseas as tourists last year with 560,000 of them preferring Turkey.
Almost all of these tourists chose Turkey’s Mediterranean resort city of Antalya thanks to the introduction of the "Safe Tourism Certification Program" in mid-2020. The scheme – coordinated by the Culture and Tourism Ministry along with several other related ministries, including the Health Ministry – set out a series of measures for various sectors including hotels and transportation designed to protect the health status of vacationers and employees at the facilities.
The country now plans to complete the vaccination of all tourism industry employees before the end of May, according to previous statements by officials.
The rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations for tourism employees at various facilities, including hotels and restaurants, as well as travel agencies, started earlier this month.
Aviation industry employees, including pilots and cabin crews, have also started receiving their jabs.