Turkey preparing to welcome tourists end of May. How?
Turkey will resume domestic tourism and reopen domestic flights at the end of May, as long as no new issues regarding coronavirus arise.
However, resorts will be making some significant changes. In particular, buffets, which are a popular practice, will be banned, as they lead to large crowds of people in a small space.
Also, prices are likely to rise, due to a whole system of measures intended to prevent a new outbreak of coronavirus
As of April 29, Turkey is ninth on the list of countries with the most COVID-19 cases, with almost 115,000 patients. Around 3,000 of them have died.
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Turkey has already formed a special certification commission, which is developing rules for tourist sites. Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Ersoy says that:
- The commission will perform regular inspections of hotels and restaurants, and issue a new certificate each time stating that they are protecting against the virus.
- Tourist transportation vehicles will be regularly sanitized. Drivers will undergo special trainings where they will learn how to work during a pandemic.
- Airports, hotels, restaurants, museums and historical sites will be adapted to ensure that people can adhere to social distancing rules.
- Doctors will be available at all resorts and special equipment will be installed, including thermal imagers to take full-body temperature scans.
- A full inventory of the medical infrastructure will be done, including intensive care beds and ventilators, and tour operators will be given the data.
Turkey will be celebrating the end of Ramadan at the end of May.
“Because of this, we expect tourism to be revived in such villages as Shogut, Selimiye and Bozburun. Homestay hotels and guest houses will be in demand,” said Marmaris Mayor Mehmet Oktay.
He says that local beaches should consider the possibility of cutting the number of beach chairs available in half.
“We expect that tenants will be the first to appear, and then later, hotel guests,” said Bodrum Mayor Ahmet Aras. The city will maintain strict control the number of guests in each restaurant and nightclub, as well as on the beaches.
No more than 12 people will be allowed on boat tours.
Foreign tourism
Following domestic tourism, Turkey plans to open access to its resorts to foreigners.
The Minister of Tourism states that tourists from Asian countries are expected to start arriving by mid-July. At that time, destinations like Germany and Austria will start to come back to life. And at the last stage, but still in the summer of 2020, Mehmet Ersoy expects to see tourists from the UK and Russia.
2019 was a record year for the tourism industry in Turkey. 52 million tourists brought the country an influx of approximately $35 billion.
