Turkish tourist industry suffers great losses because of the crisis in relations with Russia and the frequent terrorist attacks in Turkey.
From 2001 to 2014 incomings in the Turkish travel business tripled and reached 34.3 billion dollars. Istanbul was one of the most popular destinations among tourists. About a million of people were employed in business, i.e. 7% of the able-bodied population.
The situation has dramatically changed after the Turkish F-16 shot down the Russian Su-24 in Syria on November 24, 2015. Vladimir Putin has called this action as a “stab in the back” by the accomplices of terrorists and signed an executive order on the Special Economic Measures in relation to Turkey.
Frequent terrorist attacks have also impacted on the decrease in Turkey’s popularity among tourists.
The world’s largest tour operator TUI Group and the German Tourism Association say that the number of booked tours to the country have decreased by 40% compared to 2015. Hundreds of hotels are put up for sale.