Turkish Tourism takes a blow

With civil instability and terrorism attacks blighting daily life, the country's tourism industry is expecting visitor numbers to drop by 40% this year, with breaks to cities such as Istanbul expected to suffer a much lower number of visitors than in previous years.

The industry is worth $28 million to Turkey, with 2.5 million Brits regularly making it their holiday of choice.

Even though numbers have dropped by a third, there are still Brits that are willing to chance the uncertainty for a cheap holiday package.

ABTA, the UK travel body, said in a statement: “The vast majority of British holidaymakers will visit the beach resorts on Turkey’s south coast which are hundreds of miles away from Istanbul. Following incidents earlier this year, Istanbul’s popularity as a city break destination has declined and there will be small numbers of British nationals in the city at this time.”

Interviewed by the BBC, UK tourist  Diane Roberts said “We paid just over £500 (€630) for two of us for a week, an all-inclusive package, most of the cheap deals now are for Turkey - we didn't expect it, but people are too afraid to come here."

The holiday destination has also felt the brunt of the Russian travel sanction  that has prevented the once strong 4.5 millions Russian contingent from taking their holidays in Turkey.

 It was implemented by the Kremlin when a Russian military jet was shot down while it was violating Turkish airspace. A move which sparked diplomatic tension between the two nations and resulted in 95% less Russians holidaying in Turkey during the 8 months to date.

The frosty relationship with the Russians began to thaw as Turkish leader Recep Tauuip Erdogan apologised for his country's actions. An apology seemingly accepted as the Russian Government announced that it would lift the sanctions on Turkey and chartered flights would resume to the country on 07/07/16.

With ongoing uncertainty in the country due to various militant groups operating within its borders, the UK Foreign Office offers advice on travelling to the country and states that the terrorism alert is on high. To check advice on travelling to Turkey and anywhere else see the FOC website.