Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB) Foreign Representative Hüseyin Baraner said yesterday that German officials' recent cautioning citizens of dangers in Turkey did not affect the tourism industry. "We were afraid that cancellations would come, but they did not. Sales continue in the same way," he said.
Indicating that there are different tourism companies in Germany, Baraner said tourism relations between Turkey and Germany have been presented as an example for 40 years.
Meanwhile, leading German tour operators shared the view that despite the government's recent travel announcement, Turkey was still an important holiday destination for Germans.
In a statement, FTI Germany, one of the leading companies in the country, said that bookings in Turkey continued throughout the year, especially short-term bookings.
In addition, compared to the previous year, there is already a double digit-increase in terms of turnover and tourists.
"After a recent change in the travel announcement, we have not experienced any significant fluctuations in the bookings compared to weeks prior to the announcement. Our customers who know and love Turkey are happy to spend their vacations there," the statement read.
"Turkey is an important destination for us and we have filled, to a large extent, our capacities for the summer season of 2017. Demands in September and October were also high."
Recalling that Germans were among the first to come to Antalya and the Aegean coast, Baraner said that Germans love Turkish coasts and investment excitement increased in the 1980s due to their desire to spend vacations there.
Baraner explained that the first German charter plane landed in Turkey in Antalya in May 1983, saying that later on, 100 tourists arrived in Antalya every day.
Explaining that tourism investment mobilization started in 1983 with the vision of then President Turgut Özal, Baraner said that new hotels are continually opening along the Mediterranean and that 80 percent of tourists coming to the region are German.
Underscoring that cooperation, connections and friendships began about 40 years, Baraner said that travel agencies in Germany support hotels in Turkey and that the number of tourists has risen to 5 million.
Noting that Germany provides the most tourists in the world, Baraner said that the country has a very good customer profile in Turkey.
'1,001 German will come to Turkey'
Baraner said Turkish hoteliers will invite 1,001 Germans to Turkey in 2018 with the 1,001 Friends project, explaining that the project has already begun in Germany.
Baraner said: "[German tourists] could not find what they were looking for [in other countries], so there is a return to Turkey. People are sick of politics, and both sides want to return to normal. This opens the front of the markets.
"German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel's travel warning for Turkey did not work. We were afraid that cancelations would come, but they did not. Sales continue in the same way. I believe that we will have a very good October and November if sales go on like this. Three million Germans came last year and I believe we will exceed 3.5 million Germans this year, and in 2018, we will exceed 4 million. In the best year for Turkey, 5.5 million Germans came," Baraner said.
He also said that an important television channel in Germany interviewed tourists returning from Turkey and all of them had good comments about their time spent in Turkey.
Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ATSO) Chairman Davut Çetin said that Turkey and Germany have strong ties and accumulated commercial relations.
"Germany is, with Russia, our second-biggest tourism market. We see more than 3 million tourists from this country every year. We have more than a $300 million trade volume. Thousands of Germans live in our city and we live together as neighbors. Out of 3,100 companies with foreign partners registered in our chamber, there are 450 firms with German partners. There is a strong link between German and Antalya's nongovernmental organizations.
Çetin also said he believes that the tensions between the two countries will end soon without any further damage to ties.