Tourism in Turkey: “Concerns about traveling boycott from Gulf countries”
Mutual confrontations that began in both Gulf countries and Turkey after an Arab tourist was assaulted in Trabzon have caused discomfort in the tourism and retail sectors.
As the government improved its relations with Gulf countries, the number of tourists from these countries exceeded 4 million in the first 7 months. The sector’s year-end target was 6 million. However, in recent weeks, reactions towards Arab tourists on social media have gained attention, and the incident in Trabzon has further escalated these reactions.
“RACIST LANGUAGE DIRECTLY HARMS OUR ECONOMY”
President of the “All Restaurants and Tourism Association”, strongly criticized the remarks directed at Arab tourists, saying, “Have you ever run a shop? Arab tourists are critically important for many sectors in our country, especially retail. Any form of racist language directed at Arab tourists directly harms our economy.”
“THE PROFILE HAS CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY”
President of the Trabzon Hotels Association, also reacted to this situation, saying, “For us, there is no such thing as an ‘Arab tourist,’ there is only ‘tourist.'” Dündar reminded that tourists from all nationalities have been coming to the region for years and said, “The profile of the tourists has changed. The depreciation of the Turkish lira, along with the proliferation of illegal hotels in our region, has led to tourists from all socioeconomic groups coming here. There are 600 hotels in Trabzon, and 400 of them are illegal. They provide very poor service, driving away quality tourists and leaving us with low-profile tourists who cause discomfort to the locals.”
“I DON’T THINK THIS CALL WILL BE HEARD”
Dr. Servet Terziler, President of the Turkish Health Tourism Association, also spoke on the matter: “30% of our revenue in 2022 came from our Arab guests. This means more than 1 billion dollars in income. I don’t think this call will be heard. It’s an exaggeration by provocateurs.”
“GULF TOURISTS MAKE THE HIGHEST SPENDING“
Sinan Öncel, President of the United Brands Association, said “For a tourism country to say ‘don’t come’ to tourists solely based on their nationality is both discrimination and disrespect. The reaction to temporary refugees should not be extended over to tourists. These people stay for 1 week or 15 days and then leave. Moreover, when you look at the statistics, the highest number of tourists coming to Turkey are from countries like Germany, the UK, and Russia. Arabs are not even in the top 5. However, Gulf tourists make the highest spending.”
