Hotels in Turkey’s popular touristic destination Antalya province on the Mediterranean coast are reopening their doors after halting business due to restrictions during the COVID-19 outbreak. Some 285 establishments in the province applied for the “Heathy Tourism Certificate” that was created by Ankara to revive the sector. It prioritizes both the customers’ and employees’ health, and some 180 hotels have already been granted certificates by meeting a series of measures.
Meanwhile, the first tourists to arrive as of July 1 gave positive feedback on their visit, noting that they felt very safe, preferring the Turkish coast over European holiday resorts.
Yana Osipova and Kirilo Osipov, a couple from Ukraine, said that this was not their first holiday in Turkey and that they already know the “quality is very good here.”
Saying that they closely followed the pandemic in Turkey, the couple said the country worked in a very disciplined manner and that when they came here, they “found Turkey even more reliable than Ukraine.”
“Disposable masks and glasses are provided at the hotel. The staff is very well trained. Everything is perfect, so we were not afraid at all. There is no decrease in the service we receive,” Osipova said, noting that she has a blog and that she is recommending Turkey to people through her posts.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was the first guest minister to visit Antalya since the start of the pandemic.
Around 1,500 tourists arrived in Turkey’s most popular Mediterranean destinations from Ukraine in the first phase of the resumption of charter flights last week. Local operators said the arrivals do not account for even 10% of the last year’s figures, but they expect things to get busier after mid-July when the flight frequency increases. Last year, more than 1.5 million Ukrainian tourists visited Turkey.
