Turkish Association of Travel Agents (TÜRSAB) President Başaran Ulusoy stated on Monday that early hotel reservations for 2013 have already exceeded 2.5 million, a 25 percent rise over the previous year, and many hotels are almost booked to capacity for the summer months.

Ulusoy stated that many hotels are already fully booked between June 15 and July 7 as well as between Aug. 15 and Sept. 15, particularly in tourist hotspots such as Kemer, Belek, Bodrum, Side, Çeşme, Alanya, Kuşadası and Marmaris, where many prefer to vacations. Hotel owners have also noted that it will be difficult to find rooms in towns where tourists prefer to spend the holy month of Ramadan, which will occur during the summer, as many foreign tourists come to Turkey at this time, particularly because some hotels also provide special activities for religious guests during the holy month.

Ulusoy also noted that banks offer installment payment options to customers who book vacation packages offered by travel agencies on their credit cards. He stated, “The purchase of early reservation insurance means people can later choose to cancel their booking, and this allows people to freely book their vacations.”

Kemal Kahya, who is responsible for sales and marketing at Kahya Hotels, told Today’s Zaman that early reservations are higher this year than in previous years, with those made for June or later having increased 15 percent year-on-year. Şah Inn Paradise General Manager Yusuf Yücel said that this increase in bookings is due to an increase in people’s awareness of early reservations over the last five years, adding: “Looking at reservations until the end of April last year, reservations have risen by 20 percent this year. We also reduced our prices for early bookings for the month of Ramadan, which also increased demand from non-observing vacationers and other tourists.”