Turkey again a top tourist destination for Germans

Turkey has made a strong comeback on the German tourism market with significant growth in early bookings, the German Travel Association (DRV) announced on Tuesday.

"Sales figures for Turkey bookings are doubled compared to the same period last year," Norbert Fiebig, the group's head, told a press conference at the ITB Berlin tourism fair.

"Turkey is making a comeback this year, that's for sure," he stressed, adding that together with Spain and Greece, Turkey would be among the top holiday destinations this year.

Despite its huge popularity, the number of German tourists visiting Turkey fell over the last two years, largely due to political tensions between Ankara and Berlin, and conflicts in countries neighboring Turkey.

The number of German tourists dropped from 5.5 million in 2015 to 3.9 million in 2016, according to official figures.

In 2017, around 3.5 million German tourists traveled to Turkey.

Ankara and Berlin recently took steps to normalize their relations, and during a visit to Berlin on Feb. 15, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said they were expecting a new era in relations.
Germany remains Turkey's main economic and trade partner, despite the political disagreements between governments on a number of issues. In 2017, the bilateral trade volume reached €37.6 billion.