Turkey's exporters fear extended holiday may devastate their businesses
Turkey's tourism operators are overjoyed at the government decision to extend the Eid al-Adha break to 10 days, but exporters are furious at the potential loss in overseas business.
Turkey's tourism and export sectors are the country's leading earners of foreign currency, but recent tensions in domestic and foreign politics have led to serious problems in the sectors. Their recent dispute has centered on whether upcoming official and religious holidays should be extended.
To make up for a decline in tourism revenue, tourism operators asked the government to extend the four-day Eid al-Adha holiday to 10 days, from Aug. 26 to Sept. 4. Their hope was for at least a million Turkish citizens to take vacations in the country and generate at least $350 million in tourism revenue.
Oya Narin, the chairwoman of Turkey's Tourism Investors Association, said tourism losses could amount to $30 billion over the next three years. She noted that although the number of domestic tourists was increasing, tourism revenue continued to decline.
Official figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute confirm Narin’s findings. In the first half of 2016, the number of domestic and foreign tourists totaled 7.4 million. This year, that number reached 8.7 million, but tourism expenditures per person regressed from $655 to $611.
