Turkey will be a tourism destination that will achieve the fastest recovery among tourism destinations following the coronavirus pandemic, a survey by International MICE and Wedding Forum (IMWF) showed, as countries prepare to gradually restart travel and reopen for tourism.
The travel industry, which accounts for around 10% of global gross domestic product (GDP), has borne the brunt of the damage wrought by lockdowns to contain the coronavirus as nations sealed borders and planes were grounded.
Countries have been in the recent days revving up efforts to gradually reopen to business and tourism, including Turkey, which hopes for domestic tourism to begin after May 28 if the COVID-19 statistics continue on a downward trend.
The IMWF survey polled 822 firms and 1,468 tourism professionals in 45 countries, including Germany, the United States, Australia, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Russia, looking to bring forth a general opinion of the relevant segment decision-makers and the industry about the aftermath of the pandemic.
Necip Fuat Ersoy, the managing partner of the forum, said the survey was the most comprehensive study prepared in the segment. “We have reflected the estimates and the internal views by addressing the effects of the pandemic in terms of destinations, airlines and customers,” Ersoy told Anadolu Agency (AA) Monday.
He noted that 59% of the participants think it will take time for customers to travel abroad for events following the pandemic.
“Turkey came in first with a rate of 12.2% on the question of which tourism destinations, countries could recover in the fastest manner after the outbreak. The sector thinks that Turkey can get through this process faster than other countries. Turkey is followed by Thailand with 11.7%. China comes third with 9.2%,” Ersoy noted.
Turkey’s Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy Saturday said that domestic tourism is planned to restart on May 28 and international tourism will be launched in mid-June. Ersoy said traffic to Asia could be opened first amid swift recoveries in countries such as China and South Korea, also noting recoveries in European countries.
He added that international flights for a majority of countries will be launched by mid-June.
Turkey has started a detailed certification program for hotels over the coronavirus outbreak. The ministry recently issued a hygiene notice to inform hotels about COVID-19 measures, such as social distancing and hygiene rules.
After the ministry’s notice, hotels started to design their facilities, including buffets, beaches, lobbies and pools, to ensure social distancing.
