ENGİN CEYLAN: "WE HOPE TO DOUBLE TOURISM FIGURES BY 2025"

As GM Tourism and Management Magazine, we had a pleasant interview with Engin Ceylan, Board Member of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB), on 2025 tourism expectations, the visa crisis, early booking trends, and the effects of digitalization on the sector. While Ceylan expressed his optimistic expectations for the 2025 season, he also drew attention to the current challenges faced by the tourism sector.

"We Have High Expectations for Tourism Growth in 2025"

Engin Ceylan stated that 2024 was quite good, especially despite the visa crisis, and expressed that their expectations for 2025 are high: "Despite the visa crisis last year, our outgoing (tourists going abroad) figures were quite good. The conveniences provided by the visa at the door and the intense demand for the Greek islands attracted those who wanted to travel abroad from Turkey. We expect this mobility, which reached 150,000 levels in 2024, to increase further in 2025. If external factors such as pandemics or wars do not come into play, I think we will double the growth in tourism in 2025." Ceylan stated that on the incoming (tourists coming to the country) side of Turkey, demand from main markets such as Germany, England, and Russia is strong. He also added that there is considerable interest from new markets such as the Middle East and Latin America.

"The Stable Course of Exchange Rates Affects Profitability in Tourism"

Touching upon the effects of the stability of exchange rates on the tourism sector, Ceylan stated that the sector's pricing policies are affected by this situation: "Recently, there have been no major fluctuations in the exchange rate. However, this stable course may cause Turkey to become expensive compared to some destinations. At the same time, the limited increase in foreign currency also affects profitability in the tourism sector. Nevertheless, Turkey is still an advantageous destination in terms of price-performance."

"Early Booking Has Now Become a Habit"

Stating that interest in early booking campaigns has increased in recent years, Ceylan said that vacation loans and installment opportunities support this process: "Until a few years ago, early booking campaigns were not fully adopted by consumers. However, recently, early booking has become a habit. Although there are some difficulties due to the leave planning of the working class, vacation loans and long-term installment opportunities facilitate this process. Holidaymakers who make early bookings get a significant cost advantage."

"How Will Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence Affect Tourism?"

Sharing his views on how the service-oriented structure of the tourism sector will be shaped by digitalization and artificial intelligence, Ceylan drew attention to the importance of the human touch: "The tourism sector is not a sector that will completely shift to online platforms. Because travel is an experience business and we are actually selling a dream. Artificial intelligence can support the user experience, but one-on-one customer relations and the element of trust are still very important. Travel agencies offer their customers recommendations that have been personally experienced and tested. Therefore, rather than dominating the sector, artificial intelligence will be a complement to existing services."

"The Visa Crisis Makes Travel Difficult"

Touching upon the visa problems on the agenda recently, Engin Ceylan stated that this situation negatively affects not only tourism but also other areas such as business and health tourism: "The visa problem in Turkey negatively affects not only holiday travels, but also health tourism, education, and business travels. We are in cooperation with our government to regulate visa appointment processes, intermediary institutions working with consulates, and to speed up the process. We believe that concrete steps should be taken in this regard."

Final Word: "The Sector Must Act Together for the Growth of Tourism"

Finally, emphasizing that sector stakeholders should cooperate, Ceylan stated that audit mechanisms should be strengthened for the future of the sector: "In order for the tourism sector to grow more healthily, audit mechanisms need to be strengthened and sector players need to cooperate. As TÜRSAB, we will continue to support all kinds of work that will contribute to the sector."