Turkey: Reduced tourist bookings after bombings
A series of terrorist attacks, for which operators considered the Islamic State or Kurdish fighters, as well as the diplomatic row with Russia affecting Turkey's tourism industry, says a report in the Wall Street Journal.
Bookings for this summer appear lower by 40% compared to last year and hotel occupancy rates have been reduced at least by half, according to industry data. Hundreds of hotels, guesthouses and small resorts are available for sale.
And this turmoil appears to have no end. This Saturday, the 4th foreign tourists died in a bomb attack on a busy street of Istanbul, blow which was the Islamic State responsible.
"We dreamed of such a terrible situation," said Bora Antalya, Antalya 35 year-old hotelier, who is trying to sell the three-star resort of. "We are facing a major crisis and the range is not yet known."
The Turkish tourism industry has flourished in recent years thanks to the Russian tourists who flocked to the Mediterranean coast and to visitors from Western and Arab countries, as Turkey was considered stable and secure compared with destinations in the region.
Tourism represents more than 4% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Turkey and employs more than one million people, or about 7% of the workforce in the country, according to official figures. Revenues from tourism tripled in the period from 2001 to 2014, reaching a record level of 34.3 billion. Dollars.
The authorities have tried to stimulate the industry, which in recent months almost 2,000 hotel units have been put online for sale. In February, the government announced plans to grant 543 million. Pounds (190 million. Dollars) in direct subsidies and debt restructuring and said it would provide credit guarantees to domestic tour operators and will subsidize specific flights.
However, according to tour groups, following greater difficulties. The German Travel Association and the TUI, the largest travel group worldwide, said their summer bookings to Turkey have decreased by 40% compared to last year.
The tourism sector recorded good performance in recent years, with the wider economy is growing about 3% from 5% by means of the previous decade.
Last year, however, revenue shrank for the first time since 2010, falling by 8% to 31.5 billion. Dollars. Tourist revenues fell in January at the fastest pace on record, falling by 19% compared with a year earlier, according to the central bank.
Reducing the number of visitors could exacerbate Turkey's current account deficit, as tourism is a key source of foreign exchange.
The exchange says no plans to reinvest the money from the sale of the hotel. "There is a future for this industry," said Antal. "I was born and raised in Antalya, we had the Gulf War, and even then it was not so bad."
A series of terrorist attacks, for which operators considered the Islamic State or Kurdish fighters, as well as the diplomatic row with Russia affecting Turkey's tourism industry, says a report in the Wall Street Journal.
Bookings for this summer appear lower by 40% compared to last year and hotel occupancy rates have been reduced at least by half, according to industry data. Hundreds of hotels, guesthouses and small resorts are available for sale.
And this turmoil appears to have no end. This Saturday, the 4th foreign tourists died in a bomb attack on a busy street of Istanbul, blow which was the Islamic State responsible.
"We dreamed of such a terrible situation," said Bora Antalya, Antalya 35 year-old hotelier, who is trying to sell the three-star resort of. "We are facing a major crisis and the range is not yet known."
The Turkish tourism industry has flourished in recent years thanks to the Russian tourists who flocked to the Mediterranean coast and to visitors from Western and Arab countries, as Turkey was considered stable and secure compared with destinations in the region.
Tourism represents more than 4% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Turkey and employs more than one million people, or about 7% of the workforce in the country, according to official figures. Revenues from tourism tripled in the period from 2001 to 2014, reaching a record level of 34.3 billion. Dollars.
The authorities have tried to stimulate the industry, which in recent months almost 2,000 hotel units have been put online for sale. In February, the government announced plans to grant 543 million. Pounds (190 million. Dollars) in direct subsidies and debt restructuring and said it would provide credit guarantees to domestic tour operators and will subsidize specific flights.
However, according to tour groups, following greater difficulties. The German Travel Association and the TUI, the largest travel group worldwide, said their summer bookings to Turkey have decreased by 40% compared to last year.
The tourism sector recorded good performance in recent years, with the wider economy is growing about 3% from 5% by means of the previous decade.
Last year, however, revenue shrank for the first time since 2010, falling by 8% to 31.5 billion. Dollars. Tourist revenues fell in January at the fastest pace on record, falling by 19% compared with a year earlier, according to the central bank.
Reducing the number of visitors could exacerbate Turkey's current account deficit, as tourism is a key source of foreign exchange.
The exchange says no plans to reinvest the money from the sale of the hotel. "There is a future for this industry," said Antal. "I was born and raised in Antalya, we had the Gulf War, and even then it was not so bad."
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