Seismic activity in the Aegean Sea has affected tourism in Greece. Early booking cancellations were reported in Santorini. Industry representatives stated that tourists choosing the islands shifted their focus to Turkey and Egypt, reflecting on early bookings. The earthquake storm affecting the islands in the Aegean Sea, especially Santorini, redirected tourists considering the famous Greek islands for vacation to Turkey.
Daily life in islands like Santorini and Mykonos, which host millions of tourists every year due to seismic activity in the Aegean Sea, was negatively impacted. Early booking cancellations in these islands, where tourism is the main source of income, shifted the tourism route to Turkey.
The efforts of the Greek government to minimize the damage to the tourism sector during this period support the belief that Turkey will attract tourists from the islands this summer.
Tourists planning to vacation on the islands are turning towards Turkey due to the recent tremors, canceling their reservations. This demand reflected in early bookings in Turkey’s resort areas.
Mehmet İşler, Vice President of the Turkish Hoteliers Federation (TÜROFED), mentioned that the islands in the Aegean Sea, where seismic activity has been ongoing, attract a significant number of tourists. Emphasizing that Turkey is currently in a tourism opportunity, İşler stated, “Of course, we do not want such disasters to happen, but the fear caused by the earthquake, especially in Santorini, continues to lead people to not make reservations there or cancel them this year. As two countries that share the same sea and sun, we see that reservations are shifting more towards Bodrum and Muğla.”.
İşler mentioned that Çeşme seems to be a promising new destination and highlighted the potential to attract more tourists by presenting Izmir well at fairs.
İşler continued that as tourism professionals, they continue their promotional efforts. He added, “We see that those fleeing from the islands are heading to Egypt and new destination points, Antalya, Fethiye, Marmaris, and Bodrum. This new tourist profile, who had not previously come to Turkey, is an opportunity for us. We can turn this opportunity into our favor with superior service quality and affordable prices. We face a new market, a new customer base.” Orhan Belge, President of Çeşme Association of Touristic Hoteliers and Operators, emphasized that Greek tourism, especially the islands, faced early booking issues.
Belge stated that the seismic activity in the Aegean Sea led to an increase in early bookings in Turkey. He said, “The increase in early bookings shows that tourists are shifting from Greece to us. Of course, we never want a natural disaster to happen in any country, but it was clear that this would shift towards this side, and we see the movement.
There is everything in Çeşme, from sea, sand, sun, history, festivals to gastronomy. In other words, those who created a perception of being expensive in the middle of the season last year and compared us with the islands now see that it was not accurate. This perception is slowly fading.
This year and the following year, 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 good year for Çeşme.”