DIDIM Tourism Association fears that local hotels will see a ten percent drop overall for the 102015 season.
Association chairman Ercüment Alkaner said that all stakeholders in the tourism sector throughout Turkey had suffered this year due to the loss in confidence in the country, the elections and the ongoing security situation.
Antalya has reported massive losses in tourists – mainly from Russia – and, subsequently, losses to the tourism sector.
Mr Alkaner said that while there was a decrease in foreign tourists to Didim, the sector had looked to domestic tourists and expat families, whose friends and relations were visiting the area, to generate income.
He said: “Normally foreigners are here throughout July. The numbers of tourists was high. But after the elections, tour agents and tour operators abroad saw a risk to the customers that they sent.
“The number of foreign tourists fell in due course results. There was a major crisis in Russia due to the parity of the dollar and this crisis badly effectively the Antalya region.”
He said Didim had witnessed a decline in tourists from Europe, while occupancy rates at hotels varied between 60 percent and 85 percent in September. In October, hotels will try to do what they can to protect themselves.
“But this season was a bad season in terms of the foreign market, but the domestic market has filled its shoes. The number of foreign tourists inevitably dwindled and the sector turned to the domestic market.”
He said that on balance, many tourism–related businesses hit last year’s targets or suffered about a 10 percent loss.
Tourism summit set for Didim
DIDIM Chamber of Commerce will be holding its seventh Tourism Investment Summit on Thursday October 8.
The conference will feature speeches from Aydın Governor Erol Ayyıldız, Didim Governor Iskender Yonden and Mayor Deniz Atabay, as well as Chamber of Commerce representatives.
The Didim Tourism Investment Summit is one of the longest-running in the tourism and local industry representatives have shown great interest.
Important findings about the district and the country’s tourism and opinions will be shared. These findings will guide the direction and operation of the county tourism institutions.
The seminar will be hosted at the Chamber of Trade building.