Tourism in Turkey: Failed season

Revenues from tourism in Turkey have dramatically decreased. The number of tourists has fallen by almost 40 percent, reaching a record low in the past 22 years. It was also confirmed that revenues went down by Hurriyet Daily News.

Turkish syndicates report that resorts are practically empty, which is a stark contrast in comparison to the previous years. After the attempted coup there have been waves of cancellations in Turkish hotels.

The Statistics Institute of Turkey has recorded a 35.6% decrease in revenues, $5 billion in losses when compared to the second quarter of 2015. In the first quarter of 2016 revenues had dropped by $9 billion when compared to the previous year’s figure, $12.6 billion.

The deterioration ofTurkish-Russian relations, the series of terrorist attacks in Turkey and the attempted coup are named as the reasons for the crisis.

The first half of 2016 saw an 87% drop in the number of Russian tourists.

Improvement in their relations with Russia is not likely to help the industry, analysts claim. They forecast a $5 billion drop in revenues from tourism this year which amounts to a 0.5% decrease in the country`s GDP.

According to Ozgur Altug, the chief economist from BCG Partners, the point of no return has already been reached. “The next toruist season is all we can look forward to. We expect a 27% reduction in the revenue from tourism this year, he stated.

Brexit has also negatively affected Turkish tourism, although on a lesser scale than the events surrounding it and Russia. Brexit, followed by the coup attempt has led Thomas Cook to make the decision to no longer sell tours to Turkey. The company along with others – TUI, EasyJet, Air France-KLM, Lufthansa – claim the latest developments and tension in Turkey create obstacles for their businesses.

Trade and economic relations between Russia and Turkey have resumed

On November 24, 2015 the Turkish Air Force shot down a Russian military plane which caused tension in the two countries’ relations. Russia rebounded with a set of economic and trade sanctions against Turkey. In June 2016, the Turkish President, Regep Taijp Erdogan, expressed his condolences to the family of the pilot who was killed in the incident. This helped to ease the tensions between these two countries. In July, Russia lifted the bans introduced against Turkey. 

• The ban on Russian companies hiring Turkish employees was lifted.
• Turkish construction companies were allowed to initiate new projects.
• Flights from Russia to Turkey were resumed on July, 9 (the first landed in Antalya)
• Goods exported from Turkey were once again allowed in Russia. On July, 1, Prime-minister Medvedev signed a document which totally disregarded the embargo that had been introduced until the end of 2017.
• On July 30, top-ranking Russian officials said the Russian-Turkish project to construct an underwater gas pipeline in the Black Sea is to be resumed.

Published 04.08.2016