Tourism Ministry takes measures to cut Russian effect
After the recent crisis with Russia emerged, the Culture and Tourism Ministry prepared a draft action plan for the tourism industry in order to minimize the effects of the crisis. The draft action plan has been discussed by the Cabinet and will be finalized within the coming weeks.
According to the plan, the scope of the fuel oil support amounting to $6,000 for charter airlines, to be implemented between March 1 - June 15, 2016, will be extended to include flights to 12 more countries: The U.K., Ireland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland. Accordingly, charter airlines carrying tourists to the Antalya, Alanya Gazipaşa, Dalaman, Bodrum-Milas and İzmir Adnan Menderes airports will qualify for this support, while the current fuel oil support to Russia will continue.
The action plan stressed that the prices of hotel rooms are already declining and the province of Antalya will be the city most severely damaged by the decrease in the number of Russian tourists. A 40 percent drop is expected in the number of Russian tourists this year, according to the plan. Moreover, according to a U.N. World Tourism Organization report, while world tourism grew 4.5 percent in the first eight months of the year, Turkey's tourism decreased 1.4 percent due to regional problems and crises.
The Russian Federal Agency banned the sale of holiday packages to Turkey and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had announced that visa-free travel will be suspended unilaterally due to the terror risk in Turkey as of Jan. 1, 2016. The plan listed 54 sectors and business fields that will be directly harmed by these latest developments, mainly including tour operators, travel agencies, hotels and restaurants, airlines, insurance companies, tourism personnel, catering, textile, construction, real estate and agriculture.
The ministry is also preparing to attract tourists for "health, thermal and culture tourism" from Israel and the Middle East through various promotion campaigns. The plan said that as tour operators are currently in the process of preparing their 2016 schedules, incentives and support will be implemented for the short-term.
Russian press under scrutiny
The Culture and Tourism Ministry has been scrutinizing the Russian press since the incident to understand public opinion and the possible effects of sanctions. According to Russian news outlets, "tour companies are reviewing other prospective holiday destinations within Russia," "The biggest tour companies have not only suspended sales, but also cancelled booked tours" and "Russians in Baltic countries are also cancelling their holidays to Turkey." Moreover, some social media platform hashtags have been campaigning for the ceasing of holidays to Turkey to be stopped to support Russia's sanctions.
According to the plan, the scope of the fuel oil support amounting to $6,000 for charter airlines, to be implemented between March 1 - June 15, 2016, will be extended to include flights to 12 more countries: The U.K., Ireland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland. Accordingly, charter airlines carrying tourists to the Antalya, Alanya Gazipaşa, Dalaman, Bodrum-Milas and İzmir Adnan Menderes airports will qualify for this support, while the current fuel oil support to Russia will continue.
The action plan stressed that the prices of hotel rooms are already declining and the province of Antalya will be the city most severely damaged by the decrease in the number of Russian tourists. A 40 percent drop is expected in the number of Russian tourists this year, according to the plan. Moreover, according to a U.N. World Tourism Organization report, while world tourism grew 4.5 percent in the first eight months of the year, Turkey's tourism decreased 1.4 percent due to regional problems and crises.
The Russian Federal Agency banned the sale of holiday packages to Turkey and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had announced that visa-free travel will be suspended unilaterally due to the terror risk in Turkey as of Jan. 1, 2016. The plan listed 54 sectors and business fields that will be directly harmed by these latest developments, mainly including tour operators, travel agencies, hotels and restaurants, airlines, insurance companies, tourism personnel, catering, textile, construction, real estate and agriculture.
The ministry is also preparing to attract tourists for "health, thermal and culture tourism" from Israel and the Middle East through various promotion campaigns. The plan said that as tour operators are currently in the process of preparing their 2016 schedules, incentives and support will be implemented for the short-term.
Russian press under scrutiny
The Culture and Tourism Ministry has been scrutinizing the Russian press since the incident to understand public opinion and the possible effects of sanctions. According to Russian news outlets, "tour companies are reviewing other prospective holiday destinations within Russia," "The biggest tour companies have not only suspended sales, but also cancelled booked tours" and "Russians in Baltic countries are also cancelling their holidays to Turkey." Moreover, some social media platform hashtags have been campaigning for the ceasing of holidays to Turkey to be stopped to support Russia's sanctions.