Tourism has and always will be a massive economic boost for Turkey, and it’s usually around this time of year when the hotels, beaches, bars, restaurants, shopping malls and activity centres fill up with people from all over the globe, but, with Covid-19 still in the picture it’s pretty quiet. All over the world this lucrative Industry is suffering, with reports that over 50m jobs are at risk, and that International Travel could decrease by a minimum of 10.5% this year, the biggest drop in it’s history.
Things are slowly starting to improve however, and with Tourism on lots of governments minds as one of the ways that will kick start the economy given the time of year, Turkey has introduced a new certification system that will advertise areas currently Covid-19 free, in the hope that it will attract people to re-visit, and encourage all the amenities & hotels to re-open. The facilities will only be able to open if they prove they are health & safety compliant, with the new conditions bought in by the government.
The hope at the moment within Turkey is that the Industry can begin the recovery process in late May, early June, and already Turkish Airlines has released a schedule to cover both Internal & International flights. Internally, if people start moving around and taking vacations in resort towns, the hope is that international travellers will start to do the same. It will take time to return to ‘normality’ of course, but the intention is there, and things are slowly moving forward.
Erkan Yagci is the Chairman of the Mediterranean Touristic Hoteliers’ Association, and he confirmed that the certification has been well received by all, and they are happy with the much needed assistance from the government.
As part of the recovery process, and in order to further assist the Industry, all tourism taxes that are normally due, have also been suspended until November.
Onwards and upwards, but slowly and carefully – Stay strong, stay positive and stay safe!
