SENIOR Didim tourism boss Hikmet Atilla has spoken of ‘pessimism’ from German agents at the recent Berlin tourism fair (ITB) following a diplomatic spat between the political leaders of the two countries.

The German Travel Agency Association (DRV) hosted the ITB exhibition of which Didim was participating.

Mr Hikmet, who runs Raffinesse Travel in the resort and is a member of the Didim Chamber of Commerce, reflected on the exhibition’s discussion points.

Mr Hikmet

He said: “Everyone is sad. For the first time, I have seen international and group commission members so pessimistic, if silent. We should encourage them (The Germans) to come back to Turkey.”

Atilla said the demand from Germany towards Greece was above expectation, and Egypt was starting to move. At the meeting, Hikmet Atilla stated that the request ‘for information about Turkey had been completely dropped’.

He said Turkey’s promotion of sea, sand, sun, city tour and culture tourism is ‘very weak’. “How long this situation will last depends on the developments in the political scene.

“At a meeting, it was expressed that everything should not be left to the politicians and, if necessary, working groups should be created to discuss such issues with their counterparts. The demand for Turkey is low.”