British and Polish tourists loved Antalya

According to the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism , Antalya hosted 17,278,103 foreign tourists last year, an 8 percent increase compared to 2023. Of this number, 1,574,167 were British and 1,260,000 were Polish. Among the countries sending the most tourists to the city, England ranked 3rd and Poland ranked 4th. This year, reservations from England and Poland made tourism professionals happy.

"There is an increase in reservations after April"

Hakan Saatçioğlu, Chairman of the Professional Hotel Managers Association (POYD), told AA that the city reached a record number of tourists last year and that they expect a good performance this year as well.

Saatçioğlu, who stated that the January and February figures were almost the same as last year's figures, said, "The reservations that came are promising. We are receiving serious reservations especially after April. There is an increase of 8 to 12 percent compared to last year. They are mostly coming from Europe, there are many reservations from England and Poland. We expect an increase in these two markets this year as well."

Reminding that they hosted the most guests from Russia last year, Saatçioğlu noted that approximately 4 million Russian tourists preferred Antalya. Stating that they expect an increase in this market this year as well, Saatçioğlu said, "Russians usually make last minute reservations, but this year there are those who make early reservations."

Industry representatives meet with students to increase employment

Hakan Saatçioğlu reported that they, as tourism professionals, continue their pre-season preparations. Expressing that the sector is experiencing difficulties in employment, Saatçioğlu stated that there are around 300 thousand employees in the tourism sector in Antalya, but this number is not enough.

Noting that the number of employees needs to be increased further in order to provide quality service, Saatçioğlu said that they are working in cooperation with universities to include new graduates in the sector.

Saatçioğlu stated that sector representatives frequently go to universities and explain the profession to their young colleagues, and that they try to include young people in the sector by sharing their experiences with them.