What is GZP waiting for? The tourism sector will enter 2025 at a disadvantage
In Alanya, tourism and local businesses were unable to achieve their desired outcomes from the season. Sector representatives, looking towards 2025, say, "The expansion of Alanya-Gazipaşa Airport has become essential".
The terminal expansion, which was expected to start last year, was marked for early November, but its delay is raising concerns. Şükrü Cimrin, a board member of the Turkey Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA), stated that new flights will be added to GZP for the 2025 tourism season and emphasized the importance of GZP until the Antalya-Alanya highway is completed. He added, "I think the capacity will be increased to 1.3 million next year".
Alper Gencelli, spokesperson for the Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation (ALTAV), said that early reservations for the upcoming season are vital and noted, "While competing destinations are keeping their prices stable for 2025, Turkey has increased prices by 10%. This increase will not cover costs unless the exchange rate rises. Our expectations for tourism revenue in 2025 will be shaped entirely by economic developments".
MINISTRY ANNOUNCES DATA
According to data from the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, as of January 1 to October 30, the number of foreign tourists arriving in Antalya by air has surpassed 16 million 100 thousand. Antalya, which set a record last year with 16 million 84 thousand 737 foreign tourists, has matched last year's figure with two months remaining in the year. Following the record in foreign tourist numbers last year, there has been an increase in reservations coming from both domestic and international sources for 2025. Representatives of the tourism sector in Alanya shared the latest developments in Alanya tourism with Yeni Alanya.
2025 TOURISM REVENUE DEPENDS ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS
ALTAV spokesperson Alper Gencelli stated that “Antalya is confidently progressing towards its goal of hosting 18 million tourists by the end of 2024, with this figure reaching 16 million as of October.” However, he drew attention to the challenges that Turkey’s tourism sector may face in the summer season of 2025. Gencelli noted, “According to the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, the Antalya region is progressing towards its goal of hosting 18 million tourists by the end of 2024, with the figure reaching 16 million as of October. However, the competition in Turkey’s tourism market for the summer season of 2025 is becoming more challenging due to rising prices. While competing destinations such as Greece, Spain, Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco maintain their price levels for 2025, Turkey has implemented an average price increase of 10% in its contracts for 2025. This increase will not cover costs for hoteliers unless the exchange rate rises in an inflationary environment. In the current inflationary climate, another handicap could be the rising costs of hotels and personnel, which may make it difficult to maintain quality standards and could negatively affect customer satisfaction in the upcoming year. Turkey may face risks regarding its desirability due to price increases in 2025. At this point, early reservation sales in the European market during January and February will determine how the sector enters 2025. Since 2022, hotel prices have increased by at least 10% each year. However, it has become challenging to cover costs due to rising inflation. Considering the principle that ‘an empty room is the most expensive room,’ hoteliers may have to lower prices if they do not achieve sufficient occupancy during the early booking period. Therefore, the most critical period for determining sales and price performance for 2025 will be January and February, and we will be able to gain a clear insight into the overall direction of the sector before March. For Turkey to maintain at least the number of tourists it had in 2024 during the 2025 tourism season, early booking sales are of vital importance. While it is expected that repeat visitors will continue to choose Turkey, pricing will be one of the primary reasons for new tourists in the 2025 season. Tourism businesses will face challenges in pricing due to the government’s exchange rate policy and the country’s inflation situation. Our expectations for the number of tourists and tourism revenues in 2025 will develop entirely based on economic developments,” he added.
“I EXPECT A GOOD SEASON IN 2025”
Şükrü Cimrin, a member of the Board of Directors of TGA, stated that they expect the number of visitors to Antalya to reach 17 million, describing this figure as an extremely positive development for the region. Cimrin noted, “It seems we will reach 17 million visitors in Antalya this year. It has been a very successful year for Antalya. Especially with the renovation of the Antalya Airport terminal buildings, operational capacity will increase, leading to a further rise in passenger numbers in the coming years. Antalya Airport is currently not just a transit airport but serves as a final destination; all arriving passengers land directly in Antalya. This is also of great importance for the potential of Alanya. We had a good season in Alanya as well. By June, our occupancy rates were quite high, and we had a diverse market. The promotional efforts aimed at attracting tourists year-round from all regions of Turkey contributed to drawing visitors from around the world, and these efforts will continue without slowing down. Turkey continues to offer various tourism opportunities throughout the country, not only through sea, sand, and sun tourism but also with over 65 different product varieties. We are doing our utmost to welcome our guests in the best possible way. Although hotels achieved high occupancy rates, profitability has been lower due to exchange rates and cost pressures. Additionally, foreign guests have had to be cautious with their spending due to inflation in their own countries, leading to a decrease in expenditures outside of the facilities. For this reason, our tradesmen may not be entirely satisfied. However, this is a process, and we also need to lower our inflation rates. Prices outside the facilities, especially for basic needs such as food and beverages, are not low. We believe that as inflation decreases and exchange rates rise to more reasonable levels next year, our guests' purchasing power will increase. Therefore, I expect next year to be a better season. Furthermore, next year we will start receiving passengers from countries that currently do not have flights to Gazipaşa-Alanya Airport. This will create new markets for us. Every passenger arriving at Gazipaşa is very valuable to us, especially until the Alanya-Antalya highway is built. The distance and transfer time between Alanya and Antalya can reduce satisfaction levels for passengers landing at Antalya Airport before reaching Alanya. In this regard, Gazipaşa Airport is a lifeline for us. Therefore, every new flight and every new country added there is crucial for us. With the collaborations and marketing efforts, I predict that the annual capacity of Gazipaşa Airport will increase from 1 million 100 thousand to 1 million 300 thousand next year".
