For two weeks in a row, the level of coronavirus infection in Turkey has been decreasing. In mid-April, there was a sharp jump in the incidence of SARS-CoV-2, the daily increase on April 16 exceeded 60 thousand cases of coronavirus infection. But by May 4, it had halved: about 29,000 new infections were registered in the country. On the same day, the Turkish Ministry of Health reported that the resort regions of Antalya and Mugla left the “red zone”, which includes provinces with a high risk of infection with coronavirus.
Street in the center of Istanbul. Tough lockdown in Turkey until May 17
From April 29 to May 17, the Turkish authorities introduced a tough lockdown in the country. During this period, all restaurants and cafes, many businesses are closed, there is a curfew at night and on weekends. Citizens are allowed to leave their homes only for valid reasons, travel around the country is possible for local residents with special permits. From May 7 and presumably until May 17, the rules will be tightened again: now only basic food and hygiene products will be allowed to be sold in stores.
Does the quarantine apply to foreign tourists?
However, most restrictions do not apply to foreign tourists, Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Ersoy said. According to him, museums and ancient monuments have been opened, and “visiting them now is even more pleasant than before.” “In a sense, being a tourist in Turkey now is a great advantage,” the minister said. From June 1, the Turkish authorities intend to officially open the main tourist season in the country, Ersoy said on May 3.
The Turkish government hopes with tough measures to save the 2021 tourist season. For many Russians and Germans, as well as citizens of other countries, Turkey is a popular holiday destination. Tourists bring a lot of money to the country and thus support the economy, which is going through hard times. The authorities expect to reduce the level of coronavirus infections to a minimum by the beginning of the main tourist season, so as not to repeat the failure of last year.
Empty beach in Antalya
Then the pandemic caused great damage to the tourist industry on the coast of the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas. Due to travel restrictions in many countries, many people stayed at home. According to the Turkish Statistical Office (TUIK), last year the country was visited by 15.9 million tourists less compared to 2019, a drop of about 70 percent. Tourism revenues were down 65 percent to around € 8.3 billion. 320 thousand people lost their jobs in the tourism sector.
In Turkey, they especially rely on Russian tourists
One of the most popular resorts, Antalya, suffered the most. Only 3 million tourists came to the region last year instead of the usual 15. Things looked pretty good in the first three months of this year, says Kemal Sahin, head of a travel company that owns a chain of hotels in Antalya. However, in April, the incidence rate began to rise, and Russia sharply limited air traffic with Turkey.
Empty hotels in Antalya
“There will be no revival, because due to the high spread of SARS-CoV-2, there will be no tourist flights from Russia until June 1,” Sahin said >. According to him, if this year Russian tourists do not come, there is a threat of complete collapse. A visit to Moscow by the head of the Turkish Foreign Ministry and the Minister of Health is scheduled for May 12. Reportedly, one of the topics of the talks will be the resumption of regular flights between Russia and Turkey.
At the beginning of spring, Mehmet Isler, head of the Aegean Association of Travel Companies (ETIK), was also full of optimism. “At the beginning of March, we predicted 30 million tourists this year. But then in March, party congresses were held throughout the country, a little later, the incidence began to increase and in response to this, severe restrictive measures were introduced,” says Isler >. “Our expectations and plans began to fade before our eyes.”
Will vaccination save the tourist season?
In 2019, about 7 million Russians and 5 million Germans took vacations in Turkey. Last year, their number fell sharply due to the pandemic. Kemal Sakhin fears that this year will not be much better than the past, because, as he believes, both Russia and Germany have problems with vaccinations. “This ruins all our plans for the current year. But we hope that in June there will be a revival in the tourism industry and there will be no new problems,” he says.
At the same time, the Germans are in no hurry to buy tours to Turkey, although this country is now the third most popular after Greece and Spain. As of early May, travel bookings from Germany to other countries were only 20-25 percent of the 2019 level, the German Tourist Association (DRV) said. At the same time, most of the tours are booked for the end of summer or autumn of this year, as well as for the beginning of 2022.
Turkey is late with strict quarantine?
The lockdown imposed by President Erdogan paralyzed domestic tourism in the country for three weeks. Despite this, many travel companies have supported these measures. They hope the daily rates of coronavirus infection will be greatly reduced, and the industry will be able to function normally again. According to Kemal Sahin, lockdown is the correct but belated measure. “If it had been introduced earlier, it would have been possible to open the season earlier,” he says. Mehmet Isler is of a similar opinion: “Now we must take anti-coronavirus measures very seriously and show tourists that Turkey is a safe country. Otherwise, we will not be able to achieve our goals in 2021.”
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