Israelis still wary of Turkey vacations

Despite cancelation of travel warning, increase in vacation queries, Israelis still not rushing to Antalya's clubs

Reuters | Published: 07.29.10, 07:28

Travel agents have reported that more people are seeking vacations in Antalya after the warning on travel to Turkey was rescinded last week. However, some have noted that numbers are still small, and that the reports should be treated with caution.

We checked with several travel agents whether package deals to Antalya were available and received varying replies. Tsabar said they are not marketing such deals and would not do so in the near future. Daka 90 said, "We received no update," even though their site offers such a deal.

Confused, we returned to the agents who explained that even if we ordered the vacation on the site, the credit card would not be charged immediately. Instead, an agent would get in touch. "At present, we are not offering any vacation to this destination," they confirmed.

Diesenhaus Unitours said they were offering vacations in Antalya but had nothing for us for this weekend because of the number of Israelis who had already booked. However, they noted that most Israelis are still wary of flying to Turkey, and explained that the lack of places reflected the small number of flights.

Issta said they had something to offer us and promised to call back. Flying Carpet said they had been inundated with calls from Israelis seeking a vacation in Antalya.

Workers' committees said they would continue to boycott Turkey until relations between the two states returned to normal or at least until there was marked improvement.

Meanwhile, flights continue between Turkey and Israel. Most passengers are Eastern Europeans and Russians visiting Israel for a day trip.

Arnon Englander, head of Holiday Lines, said Israelis are responding slowly to the travel warning cancellation. Issta said it was too early to announce Israelis' return to Antalya and that August had been lost as Israelis had found alternative destinations.

However, Issta also noted that Israelis love Turkey's clubs, and that if relations returned to normal between the countries, they would be delighted to return.