Authorities in Turkey are expecting millions of travellers to take to the roads to coincide with the end of Ramadan holiday, the Eid al-Fitr, as authorities step up measures to monitor traffic and the tourism sector anticipates an increase in bookings, especially for city breaks and coastal destinations such as Antalya.
Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the daily fast. This three-day holiday, which in Türkiye is also known as Ramazan Bayramı (“Ramadan Festival”) or Şeker Bayramı (“Sweets Festival”, as it is traditional to give sweets to children), is one of the busiest times of the year due to the tradition of travelling to other provinces to visit elders and meet relatives back home. This year, moreover, the festival coincides with the mid-year school holidays, which has led to an increase in demand for travel.
Today is the last day of the Ramadan fast, and with the official start of public holidays tomorrow, motorway traffic has increased in recent hours, especially on the Bolu and Düzce sections of the Anatolian Highway, a key infrastructure connecting Istanbul with Ankara and the Marmara region with Central Anatolia. As early as this morning, there was already a noticeable increase in vehicles, especially heading towards the Turkish capital, as more and more Turks are travelling to their hometowns or holiday destinations.
Turkish media report that teams deployed in the area are warning drivers of the need to respect speed limits and keep a safe distance. Authorities expect traffic to continue to increase in the coming hours, although by midday traffic was flowing normally in both directions on the Anatolia motorway on the Sakarya and Kocaeli sections, as well as on the Bolu and Düzce sections of the D-100 national highway, which crosses the country from west to east.
Drop in tourism from Gulf countries and Iran
As part of the road safety measures deployed for the occasion, more than 45,000 traffic officers and nearly 11,000 patrols will be operational until Monday 23 March to ensure the safety of road travel. Helicopters and drones will monitor traffic in the country’s 81 provinces, while restrictions have been imposed on heavy vehicles on key routes to ease congestion, especially on the approaches to major cities such as Istanbul.
Meanwhile, the tourism sector is also expecting an increase in tourist activity and bookings during Eid al-Fitr. According to industry representatives, demand will be concentrated on short trips of two or three days, focusing on urban and cultural tourism and sun and beach destinations such as Antalya or the Aegean region, favoured by the spring weather. However, this year, tourism is expected to be lower than in previous years due to the conflict in the Middle East and the sharp drop in tourists from the Gulf countries and Iran, who traditionally choose Turkey for their holidays.
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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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