Number of tourists in Turkey was reduced by 40% in June

The number of foreign tourists who traveled to Turkey was reduced by over 40% in June, the biggest drop in 22 years, in the context of the terrorist attacks in recent weeks and tensions with Russia that have kept visitors away, writes Reuters.

The decline comes after a series of bad news for the Turkish economy, as political and security tensions have eroded the confidence of foreign investors. Some economists estimate that revenues from tourism, a basic sector of the Turkish economy, could shrink by 25% this year, with eight billion dollars in the last year, equivalent to 1% of GDP.

According to official data, foreign tourist arrivals fell by 40% in June to 2.4 million, the previous record being negative in May, when the flow had decreased by 34.7%. Some economists forecast tourism revenue could drop by a quarter this year, costing the country the equivalent of one percent of its gross domestic product.

Still, while Ankara and Moscow have recently started to rebuild ties, visitor arrivals from Russia dropped 87 percent in the first six months of the year; the Tourism Ministry data showed. More, the Turkish airport operator TAV Havalimanlari Holdings has also announced a big decline in quarterly profits. The company, which runs Istanbul’s main airport, saw net income slump 67 percent between April and June compared to the same period last year.

Geopolitical events also mean travel agencies worldwide have been suffering financially from an avalanche of cancellations.