Weakened Turkey tourism worsens
Series of terrorist attacks keeps foreign visitors from coming
Turkey’s cratering tourism industry has prompted hotel operators and shopkeepers to file for bankruptcy, others to demonstrate against the government and some to go to mosques to perform “tourism prayers” in hopes of a miraculous turnaround.
More likely, tourism will sink even further after Tuesday’s terror attack at Ataturk International Airport, the latest in a string of bombings in Turkey over the past year that has scared away cruise ships, tour groups and other foreign visitors.
That means a huge loss of income for the country. In 2014, before the current wave of attacks began, Turkey earned $ 34 billion from tourism, equal to 5% of its economy, according to the Mediterranean Touristic Hotels Union. In 2015, when tourism declined, income fell to $ 31 billion, according to the government.
Troubles for the industry have mounted: “2016 became the worst year for tourism in the last 30 years,” said Adlihan Dere, president of the Chamber of Merchants and Craftmen of Antalya, a key tourist destination on the Mediterranean.
Antalya, known as the Turquoise Coast for its blue waters, saw a 60% drop in tourists this year, according to statistics from Antalya International Airport. More than 1,300 hotels have gone bankrupt in the region and put up for sale.
The problem is Turkey’s two- front battle raging in the southeast of the country and across the Syrian border against both Islamic State and Kurdish militants.
Since mid- 2015, clashes have raged between the Turkish army and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party ( PKK) after the peace process fell apart. At the same time, an escalating battle against the Islamic State in Syria has led to militants targeting Turkey, the government said.
In the past year, 17 attacks in seven cities have killed around 300 people and injured more than 1,000 by the Islamic State, the PKK and another Kurdish group called Kurdistan Freedom Falcons.
After each attack, the number of tourists decreased.
In January, for example, a suicide bomber killed 10 people — at least eight of them German tourists — on the famed Sultanahmet Square near the iconic Blue Mosque. The tourist area was nearly deserted for weeks.
Businesses catering to tourists have felt the impact. “As you can see, there is nobody here,” said Tambi Yahia, owner of a shop in central Istanbul.
“In the summer we depend almost completely on tourists because many Turkish people go to the countryside,” Yahia added. “And while last year was a little low for tourists, this year it’s 99% lower. Last year, we weren’t worried, but this year we don’t know what will happen.”
Adding to tourism woes was the Russian- Turkish diplomatic crisis following November’s downing of a Russian fighter jet in Syria by Turkey. After the attack, Russia forbid travel agencies from selling holiday packages to Turkey.
Until that sanction was imposed, Russians were the second largest group of travelers to Turkey — 4.4 million out of 41 million tourists in 2014. Germans top them with more than 5 million tourists.
“2016 became the worst year for tourism in the last 30 years.” Adlihan Dere, president of the Chamber of Merchants and Craftmen of Antalya