President of the Bodrum Hoteliers Association (BODER), Ömer Faruk Dengiz said that number of visitor who come to Bodrum by plane, decrease while number of cruises passenger on the rise.
Dengiz stated that Bodrum experienced lack of occupancy in July but situation turned to positive in August and September.
“Bodrum is an indispensable holiday destination”
Dengiz said; I believe that hotels did their best about price. Some discounts were made and we worked with these discounts. With August and September, occupancy rates recovered. There was not a high cancellation rate or decrease in flight frequencies. Thus, we understood that Bodrum is an indispensable holiday destination. Both travel agents and hoteliers made great sacrifices about prices and it worked.
"Arrivals by air decreased while cruise pasenger on the rise"
Dengiz noted that the number of foreign visitors coming to Bodrum by air decreased while number of visitors arriving by cruise increased. Dengiz said, "Number of visitor who come to Bodrum in 8 months of 2023 decreased by 3 percent to 600 thousand. Last year the number was 618 thousand. In contrast, arrivals by cruise increased by 54 percent to 307 thousand compare the same period of 2022. The majority of visitors came from Poland, Russia, the UK, and Ireland."
"The season extended until mid-November."
Dengiz also point out that the season in Bodrum is extending. According to him, season will continue until second week of November. "In 2024, we plan to start the season from the second week of March. Flights from Ireland will come to Bodrum throughout the winter. Additionally, there will be flights from the UK, albeit to a lesser extent compared to the summer season." he said.