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Current News
Easter to boost Turkish tourism
February 23, 2010
Anatolia News Agency
Easter is likely to bring a significant boost in tourism activity, with tourists flocking to Istanbul as well as citizens participating in tours to foreign countries. Tourism players in the country are quite satisfied with the number of the reservations they have received to date.
Turkey’s tourism agencies sending domestic tourists abroad and hotels welcoming foreign visitors during the Easter holiday in April are quite content with the number of reservations to date.
An important annual religious feast for Christianity, Easter is celebrated during the period from the end of March to the end of April with some differences between the eastern and western churches. Easter day, which does not take place on a fixed date but is always celebrated on a Sunday, will be celebrated jointly by Catholic and Orthodox people on April 4 this year. During this spring, many tourists will arrive in Turkey, and the prices for flights will also enable advantageous holiday opportunities for Turkish people.
Etstur, a tourism agency in Turkey, has prepared some “spring opportunities” to provide Turkish people with vacations for proper prices abroad during the Easter period, said Nilüfer Müstecaplıoğlu, foreign travels manager of the firm.
There is great interest for Spain and Italy abroad while in Turkey the most popular location is Istanbul, Müstecaplıoğlu said.
As Easter is a short period, many tourists coming to Turkey cannot find sufficient time to visit Cappadocia, a region of exceptional natural wonders, characterized in particular by fairy chimneys in the Nevşehir province, and Ephesus, an ancient Greek city on the west coast of Anatolia, noted Müstecaplıoğlu. “We are very content with the reservations made until now. Our aim is to take 2,500 people abroad during this time. We have currently reached 1,500 people even though there is much time ahead,” Müstecaplıoğlu said regarding the tours to Italy and Spain.
Tours to Europe
Pronto Tour Chairman and Managing Director Ali Onaran said the firm has been organizing Easter tours since 1994. As it is a short break, 90 percent of those coming from abroad choose Istanbul, Onaran said.
“Istanbul is selling more compared to the past. It has raised its popularity in Europe, and maybe it has seen the least impacts of the crisis. Being the 2010 Capital of Culture has also contributed. The number of tourist arrivals just for Easter has almost doubled in the recent period marked with a decline in world tourism.”
Pronto managed to attain around a 56 percent increase in visits to foreign countries in January compared to the same month of last year, Onaran said, adding that this will also be reflected at Easter. The tours to Spain and Italy receive the highest attention, he added.
Istanbul to become Easter center
Timur Bayındır, chairman of the Touristic Hotels and Investors Association, or TUROB, said they expect intense interest in Istanbul during Easter.
Hotels started to receive reservations and reached the demand they expected, Bayındır said, adding that particularly European countries show interest.
Noting that Easter is a short holiday, Bayındır said, “Therefore, I do not expect to see high demand for the places outside Istanbul. The existing tours are focused on Istanbul, but if a wealthy tourist group arrives, they may pay a short visit to places such as Cappadocia and Ephesus, but I can say Istanbul will become the center of Easter.”
The tourists arriving in Istanbul prefer hotels depending on their financial situation, said Bayındır. “However, primarily the hotels located in Taksim and Laleli become full during this period.”
Meanwhile, Hasan Fırat, chairman of an association for Grand Bazaar tradesmen, said the Grand Bazaar, which is normally closed on Sundays, will be open during Easter. “Last year, we did good business during Easter. In just two days, most of the tradesmen managed to do the business they would not be able to achieve in a week. The bazaar normally closes at 7 p.m., but due to the high number of tourists, we cannot leave until 9 p.m.”
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