Tourists shun Turkish resort over earthquake fears

Alamy

• More than 1,000 quakes in region
• Early season reservations down
• Tsunami sirens installed

Hotel bookings in the popular tourist resort of Bodrum on Turkey’s Aegean coast are down because of fears over earthquakes and tsunamis.

The Greek island of Santorini has recently suffered a spate of quakes, which has prompted an exodus of tourists.

The Bodrum Hoteliers Association said early season hotel reservations are down on this time last year, and short of the more usual 80 percent occupancy rate. 

The association did not give an exact figure. About five million tourists visit Bodrum each year.

The southern Aegean basin has been hit by more than 1,000 quakes since late January. Some have registered as much as 5.3 on the Richter scale, and many have been felt along the so-called Turkish riviera, which takes in Bodrum, even though Santorini lies more than 150 kilometres from the Turkish mainland.

“The talk of tremors is impacting Greek and Turkish tourism, and the Aegean side of tourism badly,” Yiğit Girgin, the Bodrum representative of the Professional Hotel Managers Association, told AGBI. “Travellers seek safety as well as comfort, and this chatter does not help.”

Prospective visitor concerns have also prompted the Bodrum Hoteliers Association to suspend advertising and promotional activity, its president Omer Dengiz told local media, at a time when pre-season bookings from the top European markets for Bodrum traditionally peak.

Turkish officials have taken the threat of a seismic event seriously. Emergency services teams have deployed to the Aegean region, and sirens have been installed in Bodrum and other coastal communities to warn of any tsunami. 

Bodrum lies opposite the Greek island of Kos and is close to Rhodes.

Ziya Artam, owner of the Panorama and Madda Hotels in Bodrum, told AGBI: “Some people may not travel, but we’ve seen many crises in the past few years — earthquakes, forest fires, Covid — and we are still here. 

“In fact, there could be an advantage for us. Last year, thousands of Turks visited the Greek islands after Greece eased visa restrictions. This year, they may have their holidays at home.”