TÜROB's June Traditional Luncheon Held.

The star of Turkey and Istanbul in tourism will shine even brighter

Türkiye Otelciler Birliği (TÜROB) President Müberra Eresin noted that they were experiencing the joy of once again greeting the vitality that had been missed for the past two years due to the pandemic, saying, “The star of Turkey and Istanbul will shine even brighter in tourism.” TÜROB's June ‘TÜROB Traditional Luncheon’ event was held today (Thursday, June 30) at Conrad Istanbul Bosphorus. At the gathering, where Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO) President Şekib Avdagiç participated as a guest speaker, TÜROB members and leading representatives of the tourism sector came together.

Both occupancy rates and prices increased

Speaking at the meeting, TÜROB President Eresin, while providing information about the latest situation in tourism, stated that they expect the increase in demand to continue into the second half of the year. Eresin said, “Under current conditions, it appears certain that 2022 will be a much better year than 2021. The likelihood of surpassing 2019 is also very high. As for next year, we hope that 2023 will be a much better year in tourism, that in the following years our tourism revenues will increase and reach very significant levels, and that Istanbul in particular will once again be one of the world's top five shining destinations.”

Turkey occupancy rates

Announcing the occupancy rates, Eresin provided the following information: “Across Turkey, hotel occupancy in May 2022 was 70.3 percent, the daily rate for rooms sold (ADR) was 103.9 Euros, and revenue per available room (RevPAR) was 73.1 Euros.  In May 2019, hotel occupancy had been 54.6 percent, the room rate 68.5, and revenue per room 37.3 Euros.

Across Turkey in the first 5 months, occupancy was 59.8 percent, the room rate 84.5 Euros, and room revenues 50.5 Euros. In the five months of 2019, occupancy had been 62.6 percent, the room rate 65.5 Euros, and revenue per room 41.0 Euros.

Why did I compare with 2019? When making comparisons with the past, we no longer take into account 2020 and 2021, which we regard as lost years for tourism, and we now compare only with 2019.

The situation in Istanbul

Turning to Istanbul;

In Istanbul, hotel occupancy in May 2022 was 78.4 percent. In May 2019, this rate had been 58.2 percent. When we look at the first 5 months of this year, occupancy in Istanbul was 66.8  percent. In the first 5 months of 2019, this rate had been 69 percent. As can be seen, on a May basis we are above 2019 in occupancy, but for the first 5-month period we are still behind 2019.”

Istanbul above the European average

Pointing out that the rise in prices and room revenues was very encouraging, Eresin continued as follows: “I must note with great satisfaction that, both in May and over the five-month period, Istanbul's average occupancy and revenue per room rose above the average of European destinations.

In Istanbul, our daily rate for rooms sold was 127.4 Euros in May 2022. In 2019, this figure had been 81.7. Revenue per room obtained across the total number of rooms, meanwhile, was measured at 99.8 Euros in May 2022. This figure had been 47.5 Euros in 2019. In the January-May period, our daily rate for rooms sold was measured at 104.98 Euros in 2022. This figure had been 80.4 Euros in 2019. In January-May 2022, revenue per room obtained across the total number of rooms was measured at 70.1 Euros in 2022. This figure had been 55.5 Euros in 2019.

The emergence of positive trends in the tourism sector is gratifying; however, considering the work carried out, these successes are no coincidence. We believe that, following the steps taken in public-private sector cooperation by TÜROB, the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, ICVB and sector organizations, together with the results-oriented promotion and marketing efforts conducted by our Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Turkey Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA), the tourism sector will reach its targets and continue to provide strong support to the country's economy, employment and development.”

Hotel investments on the rise

Pointing out that investments in the accommodation sector have also begun to rise again, Eresin said, “According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Technology, in the first 4 months of this year a total of 42 new hotel projects across 23 provinces nationwide received an ‘Investment Incentive Certificate.’ The new investments will be completed using a total of 1 billion 892 thousand TL in incentives.”

Our education projects have accelerated

Stating that TÜROB's efforts in the field of education have also accelerated, Eresin said the following: “Together with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of National Education, with the aim of training qualified human resources for the tourism sector, we had launched the implementation of the ‘Vocational Training Centers’ project, with Istanbul as the pilot province. We continue to work closely with the Ministry of National Education to resolve the disruptions experienced within the scope of the project. We will continue to support this project given its importance for our sector. On the other hand, following the agreement reached with the Ministry of National Education, the process of changing the name of Şişli Kervansaray Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School to ‘TÜROB 50th Anniversary Şişli Tourism Vocational High School’ is about to be completed. We conducted reviews at our school. The school's administrative and technical infrastructure will be completed in the shortest possible time so that, with its total of 21 classrooms, it can train students entirely according to the human resources we need.”

İTO, one of the world's largest and most established chambers

Noting that the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce is one of the world's largest and most established chambers of commerce with more than 640 thousand members, Eresin said: “As an institution dedicated to Turkey's future, İTO, with the strength it draws from its mission, supports the rapid development and expansion of the service sectors, which include trade, small industry and tourism. While working to create new markets abroad, it acts to identify and remove the obstacles standing in the way of the business world's development. In order to increase Istanbul's share of world tourism and contribute to the development of our service and tourism sector, work is being carried out—through the Tourism Development and Education Foundation (TUGEV) chaired by our Istanbul Chamber of Commerce President Mr. Şekib Avdagiç and its economic enterprise, the Istanbul Convention and Visitors Bureau (ICVB)—for the development of congress tourism in particular, which is among the most productive areas of the tourism sector.”

Şanlıurfa the tourism capital

Eresin also touched on the fact that, at the 11th Conference of Tourism Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan—where Turkey was represented by Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Özgül Özkan Yavuz—our province of Şanlıurfa was selected as the ‘2023 Tourism Capital,’ saying, “This development will make a great contribution to regional tourism and promotional activities. We thank the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for its initiatives and wish it to be auspicious.”