Turkey tourism dives amid security fears

AFP, ISTANBUL: Visitor numbers to Turkey plunged by over 10 per cent in February, the government said Tuesday, as tourism was hit by a crisis in relations with Russia and security fears after a series of attacks.
The number of foreigners entering Turkey fell 10.32 per cent in February from the same period the year earlier, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in its latest monthly statistics.
Tourism from Russia recorded one of the biggest falls amid the crisis in relations following Turkey’s shooting down of a Russian war plane in November, with visitor numbers plunging over 51.5 per cent.
Georgians—who frequently head over the land border on shopping trips—were the most frequent visitors to Turkey, followed by Germans and Iranians, it said. Tourism from Iran was one of the few sectors to show an upsurge, with visitor numbers rising almost 17 per cent in the period.
The figures were recorded before the latest attacks in Turkey in March which saw 38 killed in Ankara in a suicide car bombing claimed by Kurdish militants and three Israelis and an Iranian killed in a suicide attack in Istanbul blamed on IS jihadists. Israel on Monday advised all its citizens to leave Turkey, citing the potential for attacks.

Turkey tourism dives amid security fears

AFP, ISTANBUL: Visitor numbers to Turkey plunged by over 10 per cent in February, the government said Tuesday, as tourism was hit by a crisis in relations with Russia and security fears after a series of attacks. The number of foreigners entering Turkey fell 10.32 per cent in February from the same period the year earlier, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in its latest monthly statistics. Tourism from Russia recorded one of the biggest falls amid the crisis in relations following Turkeys shooting down of a Russian war plane in November, with visitor numbers plunging over 51.5 per cent. Georgianswho frequently head over the land border on shopping tripswere the most frequent visitors to Turkey, followed by Germans and Iranians, it said. Tourism from Iran was one of the few sectors to show an upsurge, with visitor numbers rising almost 17 per cent in the period. The figures were recorded before the latest attacks in Turkey in March which saw 38 killed in Ankara in a suicide car bombing claimed by Kurdish militants and three Israelis and an Iranian killed in a suicide attack in Istanbul blamed on IS jihadists. Israel on Monday advised all its citizens to leave Turkey, citing the potential for attacks.