The conflict between Russia and Ukraine directly affects the Turkish economy, which cooperates in many sectors with both Russia and Ukraine. This is not only about tourism, but also energy, agriculture and food production, writes Turizm Gunlugu.
In 2021, Russia ranked 10th with a share of $5.8 billion in exports, while Ukraine ranked 20th with a share of $2.9 billion, according to the Turkish Statistics Office.
At the same time, Russia ranks second in terms of imports ($29 billion), and Ukraine ranks 12th ($4.5 billion). At the same time, the total volume of foreign trade with the two countries is 34.7 and 7.4 billion dollars, respectively.
Turkey will suffer significant losses if the Russian and Ukrainian countries put their economies on a war footing, said Buraka Pehlivan, chairman of the Association of Business People of Turkey and Ukraine.
“If the economic movement in these countries stops, the whole world will suffer. No special sanctions are required. This will negatively affect all areas from basic food to energy. These are also two very important markets for tourism in Turkey. The tension will affect us the most after them, ”the expert said.
According to the Turkish Statistics Office, the share of Russia and Ukraine in 2005 was 10.6% of the total number of foreign tourists visiting Turkey, 18.5% – in 2017, in 2018 – 18.6%, in 2019 – 19% , in 2020 – 24.6% and in 2021 – 27.3%.
The Turkish tourism industry expected a significant increase in tourist flows from Russia and Ukraine in 2022, but what happened between these countries leaves such forecasts in very big question, said Ali Sahin, CEO of the Cornelia De Luxe Hotel.
According to the chairman of the Association of Professional Hoteliers of Bodrum, Serdar Karcilyoglu, the indicators of Turkish tourism may not reach their target values.
At the same time, travel industry experts are also afraid of the difficulties that Russian tourists may face on vacation. A post appeared in one of the travel agency groups in social networks, in which the author stated that representatives of a number of large hotels in Antalya allowed themselves in personal correspondence, as well as in personal accounts on social networks, incorrect statements in relation to Russian colleagues. The person who wrote the post also indicated the names of the hotels themselves, but they were later removed.