If there’s one success story during Covid 19 – a destination that has defied the pandemic - then Turkey is a contender.
Except Turkey is no longer Turkey.
It’s Türkiye, after the United Nations agreed to a formal request from Ankara.
Several international bodies will be asked to make the name change as part of a rebranding campaign.
"Türkiye is the best representation and expression of the Turkish
people's culture, civilization, and values," Turkish president Recep
Tayyip Erdogan told the BBC in December.
Türkiye or Turkey, the country is doing okay.
True, a weak lira has helped Türkiye to become a more competitive
tourist destination and inbound bookings to the country have doubled
since January 2022.
CAPA, the Centre for Aviation, notes the Turkish lira (TRY) has lost
89% of its value against the US dollar over the past 10 years and halved
over the past year.
However, CAPA says, Turkish aviation “continues to fly in the face of the lira’s fall in fortune”.
Turkey's weekly seat capacity is now at 97% of 2019 seat capacity
levels, which is well above the Europe average of 88% in the week of 30
May. Turkish Airlines and Pegasus Airlines are both above 100% of 2019
capacity.
Mayur Patel, Head of Asia, OAG Aviation said, "Turkey has recovered
ahead of many of its counterparts in part through resilient network and
capacity build-up to maintain Istanbul as a major connecting aviation
hub.
“For January to May 2022 period, there were a total of 287 routes
operated with Turkish Airlines operating 85% of the capacity share from
Istanbul hub. In comparison, for the same period in 2019, there were 281
routes operated with Turkish Airlines operating 81% of the capacity
share.
“Based on the above data, Turkish Airlines has added significant
capacity back into the market which has resulted in cheaper fares from
specific markets to boost their network contribution from its vast route
structure that it operates.”
Patel added, “A weak lira has also helped spur growth with its
booming tourism sector and any increase in passenger carriage helps
cover the variable costs such as current high fuel environment and
weaker local currency that has a significant cost pressure on
operations".