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The information about an outbreak of bird flu in Turkey is clearly a negative factor for tour operating companies that offer winter tours to the country. Ilya Itkin, General Director of PAK Group, informed a BANKO correspondent that they are already feeling the effects of the negative reports. In particular, some tourists have cancelled their tours to Palandoken. According to Itkin, PAK Group have announced a special offer in order to boost flagging sales - those who go to Turkey in the coming days will be offered a 30% discount.
And the Detour Travel Company have made a similar move, reducing prices for tours to Turkey. ‘There was a rise in cancellations last week. But at the moment the situation is being stabilized’, explained Marina Mantula, Deputy Director of Sales at the company. According to Mantula, hoteliers in Turkey have already started special promotional campaigns for tourists. For example, Dedeman Palandoken Hotel serves free soft drinks for their guests during the whole day - not only with meals.
A group of Russian agencies’ representatives, which is in Palandoken at the moment, reports that there are no changes in daily life in Palandoken itself. Nadejda Filina, the Head of Turkey Department of PAK Group, gave her impressions to a BANKO correspondent: ‘The weather is fabulous! Many tourists are enjoying their holidays. There are a lot of Russian, Ukrainian, English and Dutch tourists. Those who came
long time ago did not hear anything about bird flu outbreak at all’.
