Turkey’s tourism capital, Antalya, has made a faster-than-expected start to the new season after the country allowed tourism facilities to reopen in June as it eased coronavirus lockdown measures.
The southern resort city, which hosts millions of foreign tourists every year, welcomed 36 charter flights from nine different countries on July 5 alone, according to industry representatives. It is seeing more international flights than local ones.
Tourism facilities and beaches in Antalya started welcoming guests following necessary preparations in line with the recent Safe Tourism Certification program, jointly launched by the Foreign, Culture and Tourism and Transportation ministries.
The program sets out a series of measures for various sectors, including accommodation, transportation, the health status of travelers and employee facilities for those looking to spend their vacation in Turkey.
Number of incoming international flights to Antalya in July exceeded the number of local flights for the first time since March, said Professional Hoteliers’ Association (POYD) Chairman Ülkay Atmaca.
“Guests from 36 cities of nine countries have arrived in Antalya via charter flights on July 5,” Atmaca told Anadolu Agency (AA) Thursday. “This is a great success for Antalya.”
The majority of the tourists arrived from Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine since Turkey opened its borders and resumed international flights on July 11.
The city had welcomed over 21,000 foreign tourists in June, that figure hit 27,083 between July 1-7 alone. Around 10,489 of the tourist came from Ukraine.
