For many years, Turkey has been one of the most favorite tourist destinations of German vacationers. From all indications, visitors from Germany will be more this year than in the pre-pandemic period. “The total market share for Greece and Turkey will increase this year compared to 2019 from 36% to 44%”, announces the German Travel Association ( DRV). At the end of March, Turkey had already achieved an impressive turnover increase of 45% compared to the corresponding period in 2023.

“Turkey has a comprehensive offer especially in terms of all-inclusive holiday packages, which are particularly attractive in times of rising inflation and high costs of living,” says DRV. “The majority of Germans in Antalya choose hotels that offer all-inclusive packages,” says a representative of the local Türsab Tourist Association.

For the Germans, increases are not a problem

“In terms of online searches, Turkey has surpassed even France this year,” says Suzanne Dopp, spokeswoman for travel platform Expedia. Turkey is easily accessible from Germany: “There are numerous direct flights, even from smaller airports such as Bremen, Saarbrucken and Dresden.” At the same time, vacationers have the opportunity to choose a wide range of accommodations.

The most frequent keywords used by those interested in a trip to Turkey from Germany on the Expedia platform are: “all-inclusive”, “5-star” and “with breakfast”. But there is also another factor, for which German tourists vote in 2024 Turkey: the high purchasing power of the euro.

This year Turkey hopes to host seven million German holidaymakers, despite the fact that prices have risen. In May inflation hovered around 75% relative to 2023. Hotel and restaurant prices were on average nearly 92% higher in Turkish lira than in May 2023. Over the same period, however, the lira lost about half of its value against the euro. Consequently, prices may have also increased in Euros, but significantly less than in the Turkish national currency.

“For Turks, this means that holidays in many hotels in Antalya have become unattainable,” says Kemal Birdir, a professor at the Faculty of Tourism at the University of Mersin. For Russian and German holidaymakers, however, the increases are not a problem and so hotels are expected to fill up.

No one is talking, yet, about hypertourism

Turkish Tourism Minister Nuri Ersoy has set a goal for this year of attracting seven million tourists from Germany to the country. In 2023, 6.2 million Germans vacationed in Turkey, of which 3.3 million in Antalya, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency. This year the Turkish tourism association Aktob expects four million Germans in Antalya.

The issue of hypertourism does not seem to play an important role in today’s Turkey. However, Professor Kemal Birdir believes that in the medium term, radical changes are inevitable in the highly resource-intensive tourism industry: “All over the world, the voices against mass tourism are intensifying,” he says. And Turkey should take initiatives in favor of sustainability, continues the expert, “otherwise in the future, very soon, many of the tourist destinations will no longer be accessible.”

Some hotels are already participating in sustainability initiatives. But especially in a period of economic crisis, with a weak Turkish lira and high inflation in the country, tourism remains an extremely popular source of income for many Turks. “Let’s not forget that it works completely without imports and with local resources,” explains Professor Kemal Birdir.

Editor: Stefanos Georgakopoulos