Thermal tourism's share in winter tourism revenue is increasing.

Bringing the healing power of thermal springs to Mersin tourism with a modern accommodation concept , BN Hotel offered families a colorful festival experience during the semester break. During this period, the hotel hosted a Family Festival featuring art workshops, yoga events, bowling tournaments, fun workshops, film screenings in a private cinema, inflatable playgrounds, shows for adults and children, and many more activities.

Narlı: “The potential of thermal tourism in winter tourism will be effective in achieving the targets.”

Yusuf Narlı, CEO of BN Hotel, stated that they have increased their activity and event programs at BN Hotel due to the younger profile of guests staying for thermal baths . He said, “Our aim was for adults to relax during the semester break while their children develop themselves through fun games. In this respect, we aimed to provide our guests with a life experience, not just an accommodation, and during this period, we reached occupancy rates of over 90%, mainly from the domestic market.” Narlı emphasized that this high demand was influenced by the increasing potential of thermal baths in winter tourism, in addition to the events, adding, “With the increase in health awareness in Turkey, the share of thermal baths is growing day by day. Especially in winter tourism, thermal baths are increasingly emerging as a holiday alternative.”

Narlı noted that the increase in the number of visitors to the tourism sector to 64 million and revenue to 65,2 billion dollars in 2025 is pleasing, adding, “This figure, representing a 6,8% increase compared to 2024, represents the highest level ever reached in our country's tourism revenue. Our Ministry has also announced a revenue target of 68 billion dollars for 2026. We believe that thermal tourism, with its potential in winter tourism, will significantly contribute to this target, and we are much more optimistic about this year.”

"The growing awareness of wellness has also boosted the profile of 'thermal' tourism in winter tourism."

Narlı continued his assessment as follows: “A revenue of 10-12 billion dollars is targeted in winter tourism, and as thermal tourism operators, we need to increase our share of this pie. Interest in thermal tourism is increasing every day with the rise of the wellness concept. As Mersin's first and only thermal facility, we provide complementary treatments with the physical therapy and accommodation center we have established within our organization. We aim to provide regional support to health tourism. Winter tourism has a maximum share of 20% within the tourism sector. If we can extend tourism to 12 months by developing thermal tourism, we can move Türkiye, which is among the top 5 in the world in terms of tourism share, to higher ranks.”

"We expect the second mid-term break to be busy as well."

Narlı stated that BN Hotel has extended tourism in Mersin to 12 months a year and that 70% of their guests are from the local area. He noted that the majority of guests come from Mersin, Adana, Gaziantep, and Istanbul, while foreign visitors mainly come from Russia and Europe. Narlı added that they expect increased activity in March due to the second half of the school year and the Ramadan holiday, and said, “Another area that attracts families at our hotel is gastronomy. We cultivate fresh produce in our citrus, olive, and fruit orchards, as well as vegetable gardens on our own 350-acre land, and use the organic produce harvested from these crops in our hotel restaurants. Thus, we offer families a feast of flavors with our specially designed restaurants serving Turkish and world cuisines.”

Source: HORECA TREND and BN Hotel