Early reservations booming
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Anatolian Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 13, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Turkish people have “discovered” the advantage of early holiday reservations and sales have soarn despite economic hardships, according to Mehmet Ersoy, chairman of ETS Group, Turkey’s biggest holiday company.
As the early reservation season ends, Ersoy recalled that global tourism had dropped 2 to 3 percent due to the crisis and the swine flu scare.
"We think that operators that offer integrated travel programs will grow in this crisis," Ersoy told reporters on Friday. "We think economic recovery will begin by the start of next year."
ETS predicts a decrease in the number of tourists coming to Turkey from Russia, Ukraine and the Netherlands. "However, this decrease may be offset by increases from Britain, Germany and the domestic market," Ersoy said.
The early reservation system has become an "early warning" for hotels, he added. "Especially four- and five-star hotels have increased their domestic tourist quotas with this system, thus the number of domestic tourists has increased."
With early reservations, people are able to buy holiday packages with discounts that reach 60 percent, he said. "Hotels have also upped their qualities and customer satisfaction has seriously increased compared to last year. Meanwhile, satisfaction rates in Spain, Italy and Greece have fallen. [Turkey] has to grab this opportunity."
A big obstacle in front of early reservations is the fact that Turkish companies have not institutionalized, Ersoy noted. "In early reservation, one has to plan one’s holiday in February or March. But in non-institutionalized companies, this is not possible. So, people are leaving the decision to the last minute."
This year, 135,000 people booked early reservations at ETS Group. The figure stood at 110,000 last year and at 90,000 in 2007. The ratio of early reservations to overall reservations may reach 44 percent this year, Ersoy said, an increase of 5 percentage points compared to last year.
"We think that operators that offer integrated travel programs will grow in this crisis," Ersoy told reporters on Friday. "We think economic recovery will begin by the start of next year."
ETS predicts a decrease in the number of tourists coming to Turkey from Russia, Ukraine and the Netherlands. "However, this decrease may be offset by increases from Britain, Germany and the domestic market," Ersoy said.
The early reservation system has become an "early warning" for hotels, he added. "Especially four- and five-star hotels have increased their domestic tourist quotas with this system, thus the number of domestic tourists has increased."
With early reservations, people are able to buy holiday packages with discounts that reach 60 percent, he said. "Hotels have also upped their qualities and customer satisfaction has seriously increased compared to last year. Meanwhile, satisfaction rates in Spain, Italy and Greece have fallen. [Turkey] has to grab this opportunity."
A big obstacle in front of early reservations is the fact that Turkish companies have not institutionalized, Ersoy noted. "In early reservation, one has to plan one’s holiday in February or March. But in non-institutionalized companies, this is not possible. So, people are leaving the decision to the last minute."
This year, 135,000 people booked early reservations at ETS Group. The figure stood at 110,000 last year and at 90,000 in 2007. The ratio of early reservations to overall reservations may reach 44 percent this year, Ersoy said, an increase of 5 percentage points compared to last year.