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Tourism rebounds in Turkey as visitor profile shifts east

Turkey’s tourism sector is recovering from the 2016 downturn as more visitors arrive from Asian and Middle Eastern countries.
Tourists ride at a local cruise boat on the Dalyan river to Iztuzu Beach near Dalyan in Mugla province, Turkey August 12, 2019. Picture taken August 12, 2019.  REUTERS/Gleb Garanich - RC1E13E68240

Nancy Siegers and her partner Cemil Deniz opened a hotel in central Antalya days before the Turkish lira collapsed in August 2018. Siegers, a Dutch national living in Turkey, said business was rough through the fall and winter at her boutique hotel in the historic Kaleici district, but she has seen a gradual turnaround in recent months.

Speaking inside the family home-turned-bed & breakfast, which she named “Nensie’s” in line with Turkish phonetics, Siegers said her rooms were fully booked for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. The rise in summer bookings had been a welcome surprise.

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