News

Turkey sales on track despite bomb blast - 31 May 2007

(31 May 2007)

Tour operators are confident that the recent bomb blast in Turkey will not affect bookings this year.

Six people were killed and at least 100 others injured in the attack on a shopping mall in the capital Ankara last Tuesday.

Metak Holidays managing director Akin Ors said: "I'm not worried about the bomb blast affecting bookings.

"It didn't happen at a holiday resort. The day after the bomb went off we actually took lots of bookings. There haven't been any enquiries from concerned clients," he said.

Anatolian Sky managing director Akin Koc was also bullish. "The bomb will have a zero effect on bookings," he said.

"Ankara is not a tourist destination, leisure travellers don't go there. We had more bookings the day after the bomb than the day before. Reporting this issue in the press is damaging to tourism."

Last year's bookings were badly affected by bird-flu outbreaks in the east of Turkey last January and terrorist attacks in Istanbul and in Antalya and Marmaris last August.

Hotels4U.com sales and marketing director John Harding said: "Turkey continued to invest in its infrastructure throughout 2006 and we are now starting to see encouraging returns to passenger numbers."

by Janine Kelso