Turkey's key tourism sector slow to recover after huge earthquake

After months of hosting displaced survivors of Turkey's massive earthquake in his Antalya hotels, Hakan Saatcioglu hopes his rooms will soon be filled with tourists again after the temporary guests were transferred elsewhere by the government, reports Reuters.

Saatcioglu, the coordinator of Limak International Hotels & Resorts, is one of many in hospitality expecting to see Turkey's economically vital tourism sector recover from a quake that dragged down bookings and hotel stays.

"The government has kept its promise" and raised hoteliers' hopes, Saarcioglu said, by moving quake survivors to guesthouses and dormitories, easing fears that hotel rooms would be blocked to tourists as the peak summer season approaches.

But tourism has been slow to rebound following the tremors that devastated swathes of Turkey's southeast on February 6, killing more than 50,000 people, flattening towns and cities and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.

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The quake has caused tourists to think twice before booking a trip to Turkey, a major Mediterranean holiday destination.

Tourism revenue is critical to Turkey as President Erdogan focuses on reducing the current account deficit – $48.8 billion last year – to tackle high inflation and interest rates.

But the recovery has been halting. Stays of two nights or more in Istanbul were down 7% compared to 2019 two weeks before the earthquake, but are now down 31%, according to figures compiled by travel data firm ForwardKeys.

A drop in new bookings means less revenue for travel professionals and the economy at large, said Olivier Ponti, ForwardKeys' vice president for insights.