Global tourism has dragged into the vortex of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and a new crisis. In particular, the tourism sector of Turkey, which is not happy with illusions and understands that recent events and reactions to them lead to the catastrophe of both Ukrainian and Russian tourism. According to Turkish tourist media, the experts stated that the season was a failure – their forecasts are based on huge refusals to book from the main suppliers of vacationers from abroad – Ukraine and Russia. Turkey’s tourism sector is closely monitoring the situation.
Expectations of the tourist authorities
According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 4 million 700 thousand foreign tourists who visited Turkey in 2021 came from Russia, 3 million 100 thousand – from Germany, 2 million – from Ukraine, 1 million 400 thousand – from Bulgaria and 1 million 100 thousands to Iran. Thus, the share of vacationers from Ukraine and Russia is more than a quarter: 27.3% of the total number of tourists. For comparison: the total share of both countries in the 2019 forecast was only 19%. In the pandemic, difficult times for Turkish tourism, when almost all of Europe abandoned the resorts of Turkey, partially filled the gap between two important markets – Ukraine and Russia.
The tourism sector had high hopes for the 2022 season. Almost all players in the sector expected to receive 52 million tourists and about $ 35 billion in tourism revenue. But the situation began to develop not according to the optimistic scenario.
Serdar Karcilioglu, president of the Bodrum Association of Professional Hotel Managers, told the media that Turkey’s lack of a state tourism policy had left the sector severely affected by all foreign movements. According to him, tourism is now experiencing a new crisis.
Saying that the aviation crisis with Russia, terrorist incidents and a pandemic in the past have seriously damaged Turkish tourism, the official said that from March 10, the sector will begin to suffer the effects of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Booking suspended
“Unfortunately, we started trying what we didn’t want. We are talking about big losses for two key sources of tourists for our country, Ukraine and Russia. Already on the day when Russia started the war in Ukraine, all bookings from Ukraine stopped. What was booked earlier was also canceled. And then we saw the abolition of Russia. Now Russia is over in terms of the source of tourists, “the head of the association explained the situation.
No planes – no tourism
Another tourist sector specialist announced the cessation of the tourist flow. According to the chairman of the Council of Representatives of the Association of Travel Agencies of Turkey (TÜRSAB) in the Western Mediterranean region Ozen Uysal, in the near future he does not expect to move from these markets in conflict. In addition, sanctions on aviation and payment systems against Russia will make it impossible for Russian citizens to travel abroad.
And suddenly…
According to the president of the association, the war led to a serious devaluation of local currencies. “Even if everything is normal and the war is not over, there will still be no Ukrainians – most of Ukraine’s airports are being bombed. We have learned that only the three airports where we work the most are in good condition, but we do not think that the citizens of Ukraine hope for that. On the Russian side, the planes of the country’s most important airline were leased from European companies. These planes will also not be able to fly abroad – they have leasing obligations. If there are no planes, there is no tourism. That’s what it means to us, “he said.
Tourists with low payment potential
Serdar Karcilioglu, President of the Bodrum Association of Professional Hotel Managers, said the sector had been hit hard by both the pandemic and the war in Ukraine: “The credit burden on the sector is too great. It’s time to pay off the loans set aside for the pandemic. Now the sector does not know what to do. Can we replace Russians with citizens of other states? I think no. When we look at the booking, we see that tourists with the lowest spending potential in Europe will arrive. Thus, few tourists will come, and they will spend little.
Fuel cost
Finally, fuel price spikes put a heavy strain on many sectors in Turkey. According to Uysal, the tourism sector can no longer withstand such a burden of costs. Accordingly, annual fuel costs have now exceeded the cost of the car due to increased transport costs. If during the pandemic the biggest problem of tourism was the lack of qualified personnel, now his headache is fuel and energy resources.
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