Turkey has been turbulent this past year! Oh, how turbulent…
The mass protests that began in Istanbul on May 28, 2013, defending the sanctity of the trees in Gezi Park served as a mere igniter for popular discontent with the Islamist government's policies. The situation in Turkey only escalated from there: rallies and protests, large-scale pro- and anti-government demonstrations, barricades and heavy armored vehicles on the streets of previously peaceful cities, and numerous reports of injuries and arrests. The unrest in Turkey in 2013 was not limited to Istanbul, but quickly spread to Ankara and many large and smaller Turkish cities.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that any tourist has the right to expect a quality and safe (!) vacation, given that Turkey has positioned itself in recent years as one of the world's leading tourism destinations. But what kind of safety can we talk about when the streets are teeming with overexcited crowds? Crowd psychology defies logic and precise analysis, so you can expect anything from it. Simply put, a tourist can easily get punched in the face (pardon me) simply for being a foreigner. Of course, the Turks are well aware that foreign visitors have no bearing on their domestic problems and that tourism accounts for a good half of their economy, but emotions have always prevailed over reason...
Has the unrest in Turkey hit the tourism sector hard?
But here's a surprise: Türkiye not only hasn't failed its tourist season, but is even confidently on track to set a record for visitor numbers...
Final official figures are not yet available (and the year is not over yet), but the projected attendance at Turkish resorts in 2013 is expected to exceed 38 million people, an 2012% increase over 8. These figures are not just a figment of the imagination, but were voiced by Osman Ayık, head of the Turkish Tourism Association.
Events in Turkey are currently unfolding relatively calmly and are having virtually no negative impact on the flow of tourists. But why didn't resort visitor numbers drop when the unrest was at its height?
Of course, all these demonstrations and clashes had their negative impact, but they were offset by a host of other positive factors for Turkey. What are we talking about? First and foremost, of course, are the events in Egypt, which have deterred a huge number of tourists from visiting that country. It's worth noting that Turkey and Egypt are the most popular destinations in the so-called budget sector of international tourism. People of modest means (sadly, these are mainly citizens of Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and the CIS countries) were forced to choose where to vacation: Egypt, where there's practically a war, or Turkey, where things are much calmer.
The choice is obvious!
The second factor is that the civil unrest has had virtually no effect on those regions of Turkey that offer the best holiday destinations in terms of a favourable climate, the presence of the sea, and the extensive tourist infrastructure: the resorts of the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts.
Thirdly, the situation in Turkey today is such that it has transformed from a purely "beach-seasonal" tourist destination into a country that is attractive for year-round vacations. Oh no, the Mediterranean Sea isn't heated by giant boilers, and the clouds over the beaches aren't forcibly dispersed. However, colossal investments are made annually in the development of ski resorts. Today, Turkish ski resorts are already offering serious competition to European ones in terms of both affordability and quality of service. While previously people flew to Turkey in winter only for shopping and sightseeing, today tourists flock to the luxurious slopes of Palandoken, Davras, Uludag, and elsewhere.
Here is such a simple layout.
