We met with Yasin Yüksel and Barış Altun, the founders of Die Reisemesse, to discuss tourism mobility in Germany and the future of the sector. In the interview, where we discussed many topics from roadshow events that make a difference in the German market to early booking trends, Yüksel and Altun drew attention to the transformation in the tourism sector. "German tourists are now looking for more comfort and quality, the share of the luxury segment is increasing," said Yüksel, also emphasizing the impact of the increase in airline prices on holiday costs.
"We are organizing events that shape tourism in Germany"
As Die Reisemesse, you organize remarkable events in the German market. Could you tell us a bit about your organizations?
We started this business in 2018 and first organized a tourism fair at Patapon Airport. Although we had to take a break during the pandemic period, we started the "Exclusive Roadshow" events with Barut Hotels
as of 2022.
We are improving this concept every year. We took the event we held in four cities in 2023 to a total of 10 cities in Germany and Austria in 2024
. At the same time, we organized roadshows with Titanic Hotels in eight cities
.
The biggest difference that distinguishes us from other tour operators is that all travel agencies can participate in these events.
In this way, hotels and travel agencies meet directly, and they develop collaborations by holding one-on-one meetings. For example, we connected with more than 500 agencies in the events we held with Barut Hotels, and with 480 agencies with Titanic Hotels.
"Early booking is strong, but there is a lull in the summer months"
What is the latest situation in holiday sales from Germany to Turkey? How are early bookings progressing?
The early booking period (October, November and December)
was quite strong. However, there is a slowdown in the bookings of families with children, especially in July and August.
Sales for September and October are looking very good
, and May also had a very strong start
. However, there is a decrease in June, July and August compared to previous years.
The main reason for this is the serious increase in airline ticket prices
. For example, ticket prices can go up to 600-800 Euros on some flights
. This increases the total cost of holiday packages and affects the booking decisions of families with children in particular.
"Turkey is in a better position than its competitors in the German market"
What is the perception of tourism in Germany regarding Turkey? Is the interest in our country still continuing?
Turkey's tourism perception in Germany has come to a much better point in recent years
. We don't see the negativities of 2016-2017 much anymore. On the contrary, Turkey is in a stronger position compared to rival destinations such as Spain, Greece and Egypt
.
One of the main reasons for this is our service quality. I can say that the quality of hotels in Turkey is
unrivaled in terms of service and gastronomy. The all-inclusive concept and the hospitality we offer are a major reason for preference in the German market. Therefore, I do not think that political factors have any negative impact on tourism mobility.
"The main cost increase in tourism is due to airline prices"
How have the recent exchange rate fluctuations and price increases affected the tourism sector?
There has been a natural increase in the prices of hotels in Turkey
, but the increase in airline prices
is the main determinant.
Although hotels are usually criticized for price increases,
the main factor that increases costs is airline tickets. Considering that tour operators combine both hotel and flight prices when creating packages, this year's increase in airline prices has seriously increased holiday costs
.
Hotel prices have certainly increased due to the exchange rate, but I think that hotels in Turkey have balanced their prices with the quality of service they offer. The real problem is the uncontrolled price increase in airline tickets.
"German tourists are now turning to luxury hotels more"
Do you observe a change in the tourist profile coming to Turkey from Germany? How are holiday habits shaping up?
In recent years, we have observed a significant increase in
demand for luxury hotels. Compared to the pre-pandemic period, German tourists are now turning to more upper segment hotels.
Especially middle-aged and older tourists pay more attention to comfort and service quality. Even those who previously preferred budget-friendly holidays are now in search of higher quality and comfort.
While the understanding of holiday used to be
"let's go if the price is right", now it has changed to
"really relax and have a quality experience on holiday". Therefore, the sales of luxury hotels in the German market have shown a significant increase in recent years.
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