Turkish travel agencies and hotels are seeing a rise in weekend bookings after the government earlier this week announced steps to ease coronavirus pandemic restrictions, according to sector representatives.
On Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan lifted weekend lockdowns in low- and medium-risk cities and limited lockdowns to Sundays in those deemed high-risk, under what he called a "controlled normalization."
"Requests have already started to come in for our weekend tours," said Tolga Gencer, a board member of the Turkish Travel Agencies Association (TÜRSAB), voicing the importance of the decisions for one of the country's foremost industries hit hard by the outbreak.
Domestic mobility is particularly expected to gain momentum now that citizens are allowed to move freely after staying indoors for almost four months.
"There were only hotel reservations so far, but now package tours will also be made. Daily tours will also be held. There is mainly demand for cultural tours," Gencer told Anadolu Agency (AA) Thursday.
With a population of 83 million, Turkey as of Wednesday has administered over 9.43 million vaccines in a campaign that began in mid-January. More than 7.29 million people have received the first shot and 2.1 million have already received a second dose of the vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech.
‘Beautiful days ahead’
Limited to takeaway service for much of last year, restaurants and cafes also reopened as of Tuesday.
"Both tradesmen and hoteliers have been filled with longing. So as the customers," says Mehmet Işler, head of the Aegean Businesses and Accommodation Association (ETIK).
Yet, he urged tourism professionals to comply with measures that would enable the industry to continue operating.
"Both sides should be careful to ensure that this earned right is not lost," Işler noted.
The ETIK head also suggested that the effect of the pandemic would decline with the vaccination process, stressing that "beautiful days await the tourism sector."
Alaçati Tourism Association Chairperson Celal Bayraktaroğlu also confirmed that the western province of Izmir and the Aegean region have started to receive weekend bookings.
The coastal town Alaçatı has been making a name for itself among Turkey’s best holiday destinations in recent years.
Even though Alaçati is famous for its crowds, this time both shopkeepers and customers will approach the situation with sensitivity, Bayraktaroğlu said.
Looking at future with hope
Gazi Murat Şen, the president of a local tourism and hotel management association in the southwestern Denizli province, famed for its thermal hotels and the travertine paradise Pamukkale, also expressed excitement that the restrictions were finally eased.
The Karahayıt district, also known as a city of thermal cures, has already begun receiving weekend reservations, Şen noted.
"We particularly think that those who were not able to leave their homes for a long time will prefer thermal (hotels) and Pamukkale to make use of their weekends well."
Tourism professionals are looking at the future with hope, he stressed.
The pandemic significantly slashed the industry’s revenues last year as they dropped 65.1% year-on-year to $12.06 billion (TL 90 billion), from $34.5 billion in 2019.
The number of foreigners visiting the country throughout the year fell 71.7% year-on-year and exceeded 12.7 million, according to official data.
As the second wave of the virus in the last months of 2020 led to new restrictions on restaurants and schools, along with overnight and weekend curfews, the arrivals dropped nearly 72% in January, with some 509,787 tourists visiting the country.
"Our biggest desire is for everyone to be vaccinated quickly," Şen said, stressing that case numbers need to drop nationwide.
"If the numbers go up after normalization, our ability to sell will fall dramatically."