The bankruptcy of German tour operator FTI is causing major problems for the Turkish tourism sector and is threatening tourism in Antalya, where what was until now the third largest tour operator in Europe owes tens of millions of euros to Turkish tourism companies.
The insolvency of the German travel giant, which filed for bankruptcy before a Munich court on 3 June after accumulating a debt close to 1 billion euros and lacking the capacity to pay, has forced the cancellation of hundreds of planned trips to Turkey, where FTI operated 12 hotels and has accumulated debts of millions of euros to other hotels in the Mediterranean region, on the country’s southern coast.
Recep Yavuz, chairman of the Tourism Working Group of the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, confirmed to daily Hurriyet that the bankruptcy of the German company will be felt strongly in the region: ‘FTI used to bring more than one million tourists from Europe to Turkey every year. Today we have 25,000 guests brought by this tour operator. These tourists should be able to return to their countries (despite the bankruptcy),’ said Yavuz, who stressed that the crisis caused by the German company will also be felt in other countries in the Mediterranean region.
Kaan Kavaloğlu, president of the Association of Mediterranean Tourist Investors and Hoteliers (AKTOB), is also concerned about the immediate future and how tourism in destinations such as Antalya will be affected by the bankruptcy of German tour operator FTI: ‘Our priority is to make sure that customers who have booked through FTI will continue to come to Turkey on holiday,’ he said. ‘The situation is not as serious as during Thomas Cook’s bankruptcy, but it does cause concern… FTI owes between 25 and 30 million euros to Turkish companies,’ Kavaloğlu underlined.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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