The war with Iran is impacting travel to Turkey: tour operators report that German tourists, among others, are revising or even canceling their plans due to the escalation of the situation.
Turkey is one of the favorite holiday destinations for German tourists. In February of this year, before the start of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, Culture Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy reported that Turkey was expected to welcome a total of 64 million visitors in 2025, generating a historic tourism revenue of $56.5 billion.
On February 28, the situation changed drastically, and since then, uncertainty has prevailed among tour operators.
"Now We Are Focused on Cancellations and Refunds"
By mid-March, about three weeks after the start of the war with Iran, "trips from eastern and southeastern neighboring countries have completely ceased," said Onur Tunçdemir, head of sales and marketing at Ayanis Tour, to Deutsche Welle. According to him, Iran and Iraq had previously been important markets for travelers to Turkey, and "in recent weeks we have only been dealing with cancellations and refunds of already received deposits," emphasized the tour operator.
According to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜIK), in recent years, up to 3.3 million Iranians visited Turkey annually. Now this flow of tourists has dried up.
Bodrum, Antalya, and Istanbul Remain Stable
In some regions, surprisingly, there are no significant cancellations reported, says Kaan Kavaloglu, chairman of the Mediterranean Hoteliers Association (AKTOB). Bodrum, Istanbul, and Antalya are considered relatively safe, and bookings by German tourists to these destinations remain stable.
The website of the Federal Foreign Office emphasizes that the escalation of the security situation in the Middle East may affect countries "that have not yet been directly involved in the conflict."
It is clarified here that the Turkish Riviera is still considered safe, but it is advised to refrain from non-essential travel to certain border areas with Iran, Iraq, and Syria.
Turkey: A Favorite Holiday Destination for Germans
According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), in the summer of 2025, among European flight destinations, Spain became the most popular (10.5 million passengers). Turkey ranked second with 7.7 million air travelers from Germany.
According to the German Travel Association, Turkey was the most popular summer holiday destination from May to October, both in terms of sales volume and the number of bookings. Current data from the German tourism market shows that in March 2026, the number of package tour bookings fell by 16%, and demand for the Eastern Mediterranean, which includes Turkey, significantly decreased.
EU Adopts New Package Travel Directive
Another factor contributing to the outflow may be that last year the EU took measures against cheap "package holidays," which are particularly in demand for trips to Turkey.
The EU plans a comprehensive review of the Package Travel Directive to better protect holidaymakers. The plans include a clearer definition of what constitutes a "package holiday" and what travelers' rights are in the event of cancellation or withdrawal from a trip.
Particularly contentious are plans to expand the definition of a package tour: in the future, several individually booked travel services will be automatically considered a package holiday if they are closely spaced in time, which will increase the responsibility of travel agencies as organizers, according to Brussels.
Industry associations and experts warn: new requirements may lead to increased costs for package holidays and become a heavy burden for small and medium-sized companies. They fear that expanded obligations and liability risks will limit flexibility in organizing holidays and ultimately be passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.
Leave a comment