Turkish tourism heats up, stoking hopes of economic recovery

The number of foreigners arriving in Turkey last month more than tripled from a year earlier, data showed on Monday, reinforcing expectations that a rebound in the sector will help repair an economy battered by a weak currency and high inflation.

Sector representatives expect tourist numbers this year to return to around 2019 levels, leaving the 2020-21 coronavirus slump behind despite fallout from the war in Ukraine.

Foreign arrivals in April leapt 225.6per cent from a year earlier to 2.57 million, Tourism Ministry data showed.

In the southwestern resort city of Bodrum, mayor Ahmet Aras said foreign visitors would hit 1.5 million, exceeding the 1.3 million in the pre-pandemic year of 2019. Aras said Britons, Germans and the Dutch would be back, attracted by lira weakness, compensating for declines in Russian and Ukrainian visitors due to the war.

“We are really a cheap destination now. Not only Bodrum but Turkey itself, whichhas again become a very attractive destination because of the weak lira,” he said.

The lira has halved in value over the last year, attracting notice in countries that have previously been only small sources of Turkish tourism. Piotr Henicz, president of the largest Polish tour operator Itaka, said bookings had tripled from last year.