Weaker Turkish currency sparks surge in tour bookings

Rapid depreciation of Turkey’s currency in recent days has led to a spike in travel bookings from Chinese seeking cheap overseas holidays, according to travel website Ctrip.

Registrations for tour packages to Turkey have risen by 150 percent on the website since Sunday, Ctrip said on Tuesday.

The company said flights from China to Turkey are in short supply late this month as well as for the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday next month and the National Day holiday in October due to a surge in tourist numbers prompted by the weakening of the Turkish lira. 

Prices for tours to Turkey are expected to decrease by another 20 to 30 percent after the National Day holiday as hotels and flights become cheaper.

Turkey has become a popular destination among Chinese tourists. Nearly 160,000 traveled there in the first five months of this year, Ctrip said, up 96 percent year-on-year. 

Zou Qingling, director of outbound tourism at lvmama.com, another online travel agency, said depreciation of the Turkish lira may not affect its tourism market dramatically in the short term, but the market would be boosted if the currency decline lasted for a long time.

The lira fell 17 percent against the US dollar on Saturday after United States President Donald Trump announced a new round of trade sanctions against Turkey. It fell further on Monday but rebounded slightly on Tuesday.