Tourist numbers continue to fall drastically in Turkey

Tourist numbers in Turkey are continuing to fall amidst political unrest and terrorism threats. While the year-on-year figure for May revealed a drop of 34.7%, June’s year-on-year figure stands at 40.86%, which will equate to an approximate loss of revenue from tourism of US$8 billion if the year’s overall reduction in tourist numbers averages out at 25%.
June’s drop is the greatest reduction in tourist numbers for 22 years and is very reflective of the current level of concern for safety expressed by tourists who have chosen to holiday elsewhere. A bomb and gun attack in June at Istanbul’s main airport which left forty-five dead and this month’s failed military coup which left 246 people dead have compounded problems created by an earlier string of bombings.
Ankara and Moscow have attempted to rebuild ties after relations between the two countries became strained last year when Turkey shot down a Russian airliner over Syria. For the first six months of the year tourist numbers from Russia have fallen by 87%.
On Thursday this week, in reaction to the extensive level of changed tourist plans subsequent to the failed Coup, Thomas Cook cut it’s full-year profit target, while political and security concerns will likely continue to erode confidence.