Chinese Tourists Mob Turkey, With Visits up 150% as Lira Nosedives
Liao Shumin | Liu Jing
DATE:  Aug 16 2018
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Chinese Tourists Mob Turkey, With Visits up 150% as Lira Nosedives Chinese Tourists Mob Turkey, With Visits up 150% as Lira Nosedives

(Yicai Global) Aug. 16 -- Turkey has suddenly become a magnet for China's trippersas the end of thesummer holiday peak periodnears. The severe devaluation of the Turkishlira has discounteda trip to andincreasedthe number of Chinese tourists visitingthe country by one and a half times.

The number of thosewho search for and sign for a tour to Turkey via Ctrip.ComInternational 's tourism segment have risen150 percent since Aug. 12, the firm's outbound travel platform's monitoring data show,news portal chinanews.comreported. The tallyof travelers is setto top 400,000this year, per statistics.

Turkey'scurrency collapse has also driven bookings of package tours, independent travel, and local entertainment services, Ctrip stated. Flights willlikely be overbooked during the period from late August to the Sept. 24 Mid-Autumn Festival and even the Oct. 1 National Dayholiday, said Xiao Yinyuan, the headof Ctrip's outbound tourism.

Since Chinesetravel agencies'productsare pre-purchased and pre-priced, however, the Turkish currency'sdepreciation will have littleimpact on theirproduct quotations in the short term, Ctrip indicated, butafterNational Day, especially in November, the decline in airfare and hotel priceswill dropthe price of Turkish tourism products toa 20 to 30 percent discount from summer prices.

Turkey had alreadybeen a hot emerging destination for Chinese tourists in recent years, with some feeling a cultural affinity with the nation, whose forebears lived in China's backyard in ancient times. Turkey welcomed 250,000 visitors from the country last yearand itstourist arrivals from January to May hit 159,000 person-times, up 96 percent annually, Turkish tourism statistics show.

Editor: Ben Armour

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Keywords:   TURKEY,Turkish Lira,Currency Exchange Rate,Chinese Tourist,Ctrip