Turkey has announced huge plans to revolutionise its tourism industry and fend off competition from holiday hotspot Greece.
For years the country has been a thriving, burgeoning holiday location but is now experiencing a huge drop in tourism due to rising costs with hotels left empty as tourists head to Greece instead.
One travel expert has revealed to the Express that as a result of Turkey’s struggling tourism sector, it is “unsurprising” that money-conscious foreigners are struggling to justify increased costs and are “seeking a better deal”.
Part of Turkey’s response has been to ratify an agreement to increase training for all aspects of the tourism industry, particularly gastronomy, to meet current demand and surpass expectations.
As the agreement with higher education providers was announced, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said: “I believe we will soon become a nation renowned for exporting touristic general managers to the world.
“Through the protocol we are inaugurating today, we will have the opportunity to nurture the future architects of tourism, officials and visionaries alongside you.”
The new agreement will incentivise the establishment of more tourism and gastronomy departments at universities, with courses being provided in multiple languages.
Students studying tourism-related degrees will be taught in English but will be required to gain proficiency in another language such as Russian or Chinese.
The training will at first be established in the country’s premier tourism destinations such as Izmir and Antalya but will eventually be expanded nationwide.
The announcement comes as many foreign tourists look set to be put off visiting the country due to rising prices, with domestic travellers seemingly turning their backs on staycations.
On April 1, Greece started issuing visas on arrival for Turkish visitors allowing them to visit 10 Greek islands with an express visa for up to seven days.
During the first 10 days of April, the islands of Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Kos and Rhodes combined welcomed 20,690 Turkish tourists, many of whom in previous years would likely have holidayed in their home country.
Hamit Kuk, a leading advisor for the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, previously told the Express that some of the cheaper hotels in holiday hotspots were only half-full despite it being peak season.
“The average room occupancy rate in hotels in Bodrum, Marmaris, Fethiye and Antalya is currently around 80 percent,” Kuk revealed. “There are no empty hotels or resorts as [some reports have suggested but] room occupancy rates were 100 percent in previous years.”
He added: “[I expect] two and three-star hotels to close in October, four-star hotels to close in mid-October and five-star hotels to remain open until the end of October.”
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