Before embarking on a trip to Turkey this month, a number of people seemed surprised by my plans, asking if I really thought my travel was safe.
I found the question to be kind of ironic, given the recent rash of mass shootings in the U.S.
And, as one fellow writer pointed out during our Turkish Airlines-sponsored fam to Istanbul, the greatest safety threat probably was of getting hit with a selfie stick navigating the throngs of tourists at the Hagia Sophia basilica-turned-mosque-turned museum.
Two years after a series of terrorist attacks and an attempted coup shook what had been an unprecedented boom in tourism to Turkey, hoteliers and travel officials say inbound visitor numbers for 2018 are better than expected, and they are cautiously optimistic about a sustained rebound.
That trend, combined with a favorable exchange rate and hotel pricing still well below the 2014 and 2105 peaks, means 2018 maybe the year for luxury travelers to put a first-time or return trip to Turkey on their bucket list.
Crowds of tourists outside Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. Photo Credit: Jeri Clausing
I personally had been trying to get here for years, only to have tentative plans scuttled first by the unrest, then again last fall by a diplomatic kerfuffle that prompted the U.S. and Turkey to temporarily halt the processing of each other's tourist visas just five days before my scheduled departure.
After finally arriving this month, I only had to leave the airport to see why Istanbul had been one of the world's top destinations: It offers history, fine dining and a cosmopolitan but culturally diverse vibe that checks all the boxes for the authentic experiences increasingly sought by today's luxury traveler. One could spend days wandering both the tourist attractions and hip neighborhoods and taking in sights such as its 2,500 mosques, stunning Bosphorus views and attractions like the Grand Bazaar.
At two of the city's top luxury hotels, the Shangri-La and the Ciragan Palace, officials say their once-rock-bottom occupancy rates have been hovering around 80% this month. Much of the new demand, they say, is coming from the Middle East, Latin America and Russia. The return of Europeans and Americans is slower, but numbers are increasing.
Hotels are working to lure more luxury guests. For instance, the Ciragan Palace Kempinski, one of the city's finest and most historical properties, is offering for $30,000 three nights in what is normally a $15,000-a-night suite in the part of the hotel that is a restored 17th century palace. The package also includes, among many perks, first- or business-class airfare for two from anywhere in the world, with the air class depending on your departure point; private boat or helicopter transfers from the airport; and custom wardrobe trunks. The rate is good through the end of 2018.
The view from a guestroom in part of the historic part of Istanbul’s Ciragan Palace Kempinski, which has meetings rooms and suites in a restored 17th century palace. Photo Credit: Jeri Clausing
So is Istanbul safe? I never even felt uncomfortable. (OK, may be a little bit, briefly, when hundreds of armed officers secured the Shangri-La so the president, prime minister and cabinet members could attend a wedding there that weekend.) And the locals seem -- cautiously -- confident that the instability has indeed passed and Istanbul is on track to regaining its status among major cosmopolitan cities.
As Koray Sahmali, founder and managing director of the luxury agency Icons & Styles said of inquiries from customers about the safety level of Turkey: "Before I didn't feel comfortable to tell them to come. Now I do."