To stop tourism slump, Erdogan asks Turks to holiday at home
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is asking Turks to spend their holidays in Turkey, to alleviate the loss in revenue of Russian tourists who will not travel to Turkey this year.
Turkey's tourism industry is under serious threat following the crisis with Russia, continuing clashes in southeast Turkey and bomb explosions in Ankara and Istanbul. It is now clear that the roughly 4 million Russian tourists who have been Turkey’s loyal visitors are not coming this year.
Recent figures released by the Turkish Census Bureau indicate that in 2015, tourism revenues dropped 8.3% compared to 2014, from $34.3 billion to $31.5 billion. Meanwhile, the number of Turkish citizens traveling abroad increased from 7,982,000 in 2014 to 8,750,000 in 2015, and the tourism expenditure increased from $5.5 billion to $5.7 billion.
The sharpest decline in tourism revenue was registered in November 2015 after the shooting down of a Russian fighter jet.
Hotel owners in Turkey now facing bankruptcy are waiting for solutions offered by the government. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has already called on Turkish citizens not to travel abroad, but to spend their holidays in Turkey. He also wants people to choose local products instead of foreign products when shopping.
