Panic in Turkey as tourists abandon holiday hotspot – 'It's frightening'

Hotels in Turkey are recording their lowest level of demand since the COVID pandemic (Image: Getty)

Unpredictable price fluctuation and a series of natural disasters have taken their toll on Turkey's tourism industry – with beaches in once-popular resorts "deserted" by holidaymakers. As Brit-favourite destinations around the globe continue to tackle a rise in footfall and its repercussions on local services and infrastructure, Turkey appears to have bucked the trend, although not necessarily to its advantage.

The Eurasian country recorded a "frightening" drop in hotel bookings during the first quarter of 2025, with experts pinning the lack of demand on fears around spiralling costs and recent earthquakes in the Aegean Sea. Despite global economies remaining in a state of uncertainty and subdued growth, the cost of a family holiday package in Turkey rose from a minimum of £1,880 to a maximum of £3,204 over the last year, linked to high inflation and a weaking of the lira, BirminghamLive reports. The country's overall foreign tourism sector also saw a year-on-year decline of 5% during the first three months of 2025.

Turkey's international tourist trade dropped by 5% in the first quarter of 2025 (Image: Getty)

Despite the downward trend, 3.9 million foreign tourists visited Turkey in April, marking an 8% year-on-year rise – but this wasn't enough to reassure Aslan Tan, a senior member of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TURSAB), who said the region was experiencing one of the toughest holiday seasons in recent memory.

He told Turkiye Today: "We've reached a frightening point. It will take a long time for this wound to heal.

"We are a country prone to earthquakes and natural disasters [but] what deters tourists the most right now is not fear, but unpredictability - especially in pricing."

"Foreign tourists are increasingly price-conscious," Mr Tan added. "There is a clear shift in consumer awareness. We need a serious, long-term policy framework from the government. Without it, the damage will only deepen, and the Aegean could lose its competitiveness for years to come."

Earthquakes have threatened the safety of some of Turkey's most popular coastal holiday destinations, including Izmir, Mugla and Aydin, in recent months – with a 5.8-magnitude quake killing a 14-year-old girl and injuring 69 people on June 3.

Social media commentators have already spotted the tangible results of the drop in international visitors, with TikTok user suzannatravelsolo describing Marmaris, a resort town on the Turkish riviera, as "dead", alongside clips of deserted beaches, just this month.

"This is 11am," she told her followers. "There's one guy there. No people."

Other Brits travelling in Turkey took to her comment section to vent their frustration with high prices in the country.

"$100 gets you 1700 lira, but a decent meal in Istanbul will cost 600 to 1900 for a family of four," one person said. "You really have to look around for deals, but we find most items except medicine more expensive than in the USA."