Stormy times for tourism in Turkey

Russia is suspending its visa-free regime with Turkey due to the escalation of diplomatic tension between Turkey and Russia.

Russia is suspending its visa-free regime with Turkey due to the escalation of diplomatic tension between Turkey and Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated on Friday that Moscow would scrap the visa-free regime with Turkey as of January 1, 2016. Citizens from both countries had been able to cross their respective borders without needing a visa for 30 days.

This comes only a few days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov advised Russians not to visit Turkey.

IMG 0129 | eTurboNews | eTN

IMG 0238 | eTurboNews | eTN

IMG 0244 | eTurboNews | eTN

IMG 0245 | eTurboNews | eTN
Photos: Copyright Elisabeth Lang, eTN Germany

The same day, one of Russia’s largest tour operators to the country said it would temporarily suspend the sale of trips there.

Only 10 days after the G-20 Summit held in Antalya hosted by Turkish President Recip Erdogan with US President Obama, Russian President Putin and leaders of the 20 richest countries came together, and the world has already changed again.

Currently in Antalya, Turkey tourism industry leaders are meeting for the 5th Resort Tourism Congress held in Antalya over the weekend. The chairman of the Union of Mediterranean Hotel Owners (AKTOB), Yusuf Hacฤฑsรผleyman, said the tourism industry has been gripped with ever-changing troubles each day.

โ€œTurkey and Russia enjoy $30 billion worth of bilateral trade each year. Taking all this into account, I suppose we, the civil society, would resolve the problem quicker if the officials put us in charge,โ€ commented Osman Ayฤฑk, President of the Turkey Hotel Owners Federation (TรœROFED). Today, Zamanโ€™s annual tourism revenue of $4 billion from Russian visitors to Turkey could melt down by as much as 75 percent unless Moscow drops the official call for the cancellation of trips to Turkey, Turkish industry representatives warned on Wednesday.

Russians are second only to Germans in terms of numbers visiting Turkey, bringing in an estimated $4 billion a year in tourism revenue.

Turkey is already suffering from a steady decline in Russian tourist numbers due to a ruble crisis in Russia, and Tuesday’s incident is only fanning the flames, head of the high advisory board of the Tourism Investors Association (TYD), Turgut Gรผr, told Reuters on Wednesday. Gรผr said Turkey could see its annual revenues from Russian visitors drop to even $1 billion from what is currently $4 billion. In 2014, 4.48 million Russian tourists visited Turkey, bringing in revenue of nearly $4 billion, official figures showed. Turkey hosts some 40 million tourists who generate $34.3 billion in revenue every year.

The Russian Association of Travel Agencies said on Wednesday that several Russian agencies have stopped selling package tours to Turkey following an official travel warning about a potential threat to Russian citizens there. The travel association’s Vice President, Dmitry Gorin, was quoted by the state-run RIA Novosti news agency as saying he expects the agencies will have to reimburse 6,000 tourists whose vacations have been cancelled, reports Hurriyet Daily News.

Russian Incoming Tour Operators in Antalya said on CNN tonight, we are deeply concerned: Antalya is the most popular resort in Turkey for Russia. In seven years here, our customer used to come twice a year, but this year only once. Many Russian trying to sell their apartments now – they are afraid.โ€œ

It will have a big impact for the hotels with most of them closed over the winter months.

Yet it will be very difficult to close the gap in 2016. We are talking of over 500,000 beds stretching out on the coastline and in radius of 100 km of Antalya.

In a survey by the Turkish European Foundation for Education and Scientific Studies (TAVAK), Turkey has becoming less popular as a holiday destination for European Turks as the number of European Turks visiting the country has fallen to 1.9 million over this year from around 2.7 million in 2014, according to the TAVAK study, which surveyed 1,450 Turks living in Germany and France, with the average spending per European Turkish tourist also decreasing.

Further to the latest report in Turkish newspaper today, Zaman the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) has said a communication and coordination desk has been established to hear and resolve any problems faced by Turkish businesspeople in Russia amid ongoing tension between Ankara and Moscow.

โ€œOur businesspeople who face problems in their ties with Russia can communicate these problems with us through e-mail or by phone. This data will be sent to the related public institutions immediately to be resolved,โ€ said a written statement issued by TOBB on November 27.

It also stressed that it is very important for trade and economic ties with Russia not to come under the shadow of political strains.

โ€œTOBB hopes that businesspeople from both countries, who complement each other in many fields, including trade, logistics, energy, banking, tourism, and construction, are not negatively affected,โ€ TOBB said.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

Share to...