Seismic activity in the Aegean Sea has impacted tourism in Greece. Early booking cancellations were seen in Santorini. Sector representatives mentioned that tourists choosing the islands shifted towards Turkey and Egypt, which is reflected in early bookings. The earthquake storm affecting islands in the Aegean Sea, including Santorini, redirected tourists considering famous Greek islands to Turkey.
Daily life in islands like Santorini and Mykonos, which host millions of tourists each year due to seismic activity in the Aegean Sea, has been negatively affected. Early booking cancellations in these islands, which heavily rely on tourism, redirected tourism towards Turkey.
The efforts of the Greek government to minimize the damage to the tourism sector during this period support the idea that Turkey will attract tourists to the islands this summer.
Tourists planning holidays on the islands are canceling their reservations due to recent tremors and turning towards Turkey, a nearby destination.
This demand has been reflected in early bookings at holiday resorts in Turkey.
Mehmet Isler, Vice President of the Turkey Hoteliers Federation (TÜROFED), stated that the islands in the Aegean Sea, where seismic activity has been ongoing, host a significant number of tourists. Isler emphasized that Turkey is currently in a tourism opportunity and mentioned, “We certainly do not want such disasters to happen, but the fear created by earthquakes, especially in Santorini, and the tendency of people not to make reservations there continues this year. As two countries sharing the same sea and sun, we see that reservations are shifting more towards the Bodrum and Mugla regions.”
Isler also expressed that Cesme appears to be a promising new destination and emphasized that by promoting Izmir in exhibitions, more tourists can be attracted.
Isler continued to explain their promotional efforts as tour operators, stating:
“We see that those running from the islands are heading towards Egypt, and we see a shift to new destination points like Antalya, Fethiye, Marmaris, and Bodrum. This new tourist profile, which has not previously come to Turkey, being in our target audience is an opportunity for us.
We can turn this opportunity to our advantage with superior service quality and affordable prices. We are facing a new market, a new customer portfolio.” Orhan Belge, President of the Cesme Association of Tourist Hoteliers and Operators, emphasized the early booking issue faced by Greek tourism, especially in the islands.
Belge indicated that the seismic activity in the Aegean Sea led to an increase in early bookings in Turkey, stating:
“The increase in early bookings shows that tourists are shifting from Greece to us. Of course, we never want a natural disaster to occur anywhere, but it was obvious that this would shift in our direction, and we see the movement.
There is everything in Cesme like sea, sand, sun, history, festivals, gastronomy. Those who created a perception of high prices compared to the islands last season are now realizing that it was not correct. This perception is slowly disappearing.
This year and the upcoming years, 2023 and 2024, will be completely different. Our goal is to catch up with and surpass the years before 2019, and we will achieve that. This year will be a great year for Cesme.”