Tourism in Antalya

May 2021

 
 
 
 

Vocabulary

 

enjoy	terrace	holidaymaker
vendor	frustrated	street vendor
owner	struggle	depend on
normal	sit/sat/sat	circumstance
decline	book (2)	win/won/won (2)
race (2)	right now	go bankrupt
give up	win back	give up/gave up/given up
risk	lose out	lose/lost/lost
log in	try/tried	destination
still (2)	infection	measure (2)
warn	on track	say/said/said
list	back then	begin/began/begun
remain	get back	cancellation
great	wonderful	full/fuller/fullest
Earth	crowded	heaven (2)
empty	make sure	to ourselves
soon	vacationer	see/saw/seen
region	as much as	feel sorry for
instead	point (3)	feel/felt/felt (2)
suffer	spell (3)	come/came/come
resort	desert (2)	boutique (2)
average	significant	paint a positive picture
expect	dry spell	good/better/best
rate	get on (2)	occupancy
ready	change (2)	comparable
receive	believe (2)	think/thought/thought (2)
local	figure (2)	at any time
hope		be in business

 
 
 
 
 

Video: Antalya, Turkey

 
 
 
 

Transcript

Mustafa Ozbay normally enjoys the view from the terrace of his hotel.

But that’s changed.

For months, he’s seen only empty cafes and frustrated street vendors in Antalya’s Old Town, along with other hotel owners, who are struggling as much as he is.

Mustafa Ozbay, Hotel Owner: “On normal circumstances, on a day like this, I couldn’t sit here and talk to you: we’d be fully booked with a lot to do.

Right now, occupancy is just ten to twenty percent (10% to 20%). If things continue like this, I’ll go bankrupt soon; ten hotels out here have already given up.”

 

In the race to win back foreign tourists this summer, Turkey risks losing out. While other popular destinations like Greece, Italy and Spain are trying to log in bookings after a decline in coronavirus infections, Turkey still remains on many travel warning lists as a high-risk country.

Antalya’s beaches are almost as deserted as when the pandemic began. Back then, many believed that everything would get back on track in a year.

But they were wrong.

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

 

Only a few foreigners are here, most of them from Ukraine and Russia. They are enjoying their vacation to the fullest.

Male Russian Tourist, One: “It’s perfect here. The people are wonderful. The weather’s great. I really like it.”

Female Russian Tourist, Two: “It’s like heaven on Earth: it’s warm. It’s beautiful.”

Russian Father: “At home in Russia, the beaches are crowded. But here, they’re empty. We have everything to ourselves.”

Russian Mother: “I’ve never seen so few vacationers here in Turkey. For the locals this must be a big problem. I really feel sorry for them.”

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

 

The whole region depends on tourism. Three point five (3.5) million visitors came to Antalya last year, instead of the average of fifteen (15) million.

And that’s why almost everyone has suffered, from small boutique hotels to large resorts.

The Turkish tourism minister is trying to paint a positive picture. He says the country’s coronavirus measures are successful. And that the dry spell for tourism will soon be over.

Mehmet Nuri Ursoy, Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister: “The better we get on with the vaccinations, the easier it is to keep infection rates low.

And that’s why I think we can expect a significant increase in the number of holidaymakers in the second half of the year.

Of course, still not comparable to 2019, but I think we’ll have better tourism figures that last year.”

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

 

Mustafa Ozbay would like to believe that. But so far, he receives more cancellations than bookings on his phone.

Still, he’s making sure all of his rooms are ready for guests at any time. And he hopes he’ll still be in business when the tourists return.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *

Questions

Hotel. Antalya and other seaside resorts in Turkey have changed dramatically (a lot) over the past two years. Turkey in 2021 is very different than in 2019. True or false?

Guesthouse. Are the locals happy and cheerful, or sad, despondent and gloomy? Why do they feel disappointed?

Bed and Breakfast. Can all businesses in Antalya survive for a long time? Can they stay in business for a long time?

Resort. Turkey is the most popular tourist destination in the Mediterranean Sea region. More tourists are visiting Turkey than Greece, Italy and Spain. Is this right or wrong?

Beach. Are there lots of American, Canadian and Australian tourists swimming, relaxing and sunbathing on Turkey’s beaches?

Souvenir. The tourists on the beach are depressed (very sad) because of the coronavirus pandemic. Is this correct or incorrect?

Postcard. Is Turkey’s minister of tourism optimistic or pessimistic about the tourist season in 2021? Does he feel hopeful and positive about tourism in Turkey?

Exchange, Exchange Rate. Are many people booking (reserving) rooms at Mustafa’s hotel?
 
 
 
Sightseeing. I have visited Turkey. True or false? If you have visited Turkey, where did you stay? Describe Turkey.

Tour, Tour Guide, Tour Bus. Do many tourists visit your city? Many tourists visit my city. Some tourists come here. There are few tourists in my city. Nobody visits my city.

Tour Operator, Travel Agent. Where do people from your city and country like to go on vacation? What do they do during their summer vacation?

Holiday, Vacation. The coronavirus pandemic has been very bad for tourism, hotels, restaurants, cafes, bars, clubs. Yes or no?

Package Tour. What might happen later this year, 2022 or beyond?

Book, Reserve. What should governments and people do?