Only 50 cancel holidays, say Irish tour operators

Irish tourists are choosing not to cancel their holidays to Turkish resorts, tour operators have said, despite the death of an Irish holidaymaker in last Saturday's bomb attack.

Just over 50 people have cancelled package holidays to the resorts of Kusadasi, Bodrum and Dalaman over the next week, according to the Irish Tour Operator's Federation (ITOF).

Budget Travel, Sunworld and Falcon/JWT - three of the biggest providers of package holidays to Turkey - said yesterday they had received several calls from customers since Saturday but very few cancellations.

"We have four flights to Turkey every weekend with 190 passengers per flight and all together we've had just 25 cancellations," a spokeswoman for Budget Travel said. Most inquiries were to check that there had been no warnings against travelling to particular areas, and that flights were still going ahead, she said. "The vast majority of callers are just looking for reassurance and updates."

The company's representatives at the resorts have said that most tourists are continuing with their holidays and that life has "returned to normal. In previous similar incidents things have gone back to normal quite quickly. Irish holidaymakers tend to be very resilient."

Sunworld had received only two or three holiday cancellations and a number of requests for destination changes, a spokeswoman said.

The ITOF said it was advising members, in line with the recommendation of the Department of Foreign Affairs, that it was safe to travel to the region, but that holidaymakers should exercise caution.