Turkish Tourism Woes

Accoriding to numbers from the World Tourism Organization, in 2005 Turkey ranked 8th in the world in income from tourism with a total income of $18.2 billion. Story Here. Unfortunately this news only serves to punctuate the significance of a much more significant statistic. In the third quarter of 2006, consisting of the important tourism months of July, August, and September, tourism income is down 8.9 percent when compared with the same months last year. Overall, tourism has been down by 5.8 percent from 2005. Story Here.This is a major problem because of the importance of tourism on the Turkish economy. When I was in Turkey I could tell there was a problem with tourism. I go to Turkey almost every summer, and this summer I saw far less foreign tourists than I usually do.

There are probably several different factors playing in to this. Most important is probably the resurgence of Kurdish terrorism. The terrorists staged several attacks in popular touristic locations this summer, often targeting foreign tourists. At the same time, the uncertainty in Iraq and Iran can not help. While the events there really do not have much of an effect on safety in Turkey at all, many people in Europe and America are fairly ignorant about Turkey. Any percieved instability in the region would predictably have an effect on people to whom Turkey would be an otherwise attractive vacation spot. And, of course, anti-Turkish propaganda and sentiments can not help. With Turkey's attempts to enter the EU, anti-Turkish lobbies have stepped up efforts to demonize Turkey.

I urge anyone who has not been to Turkey to give it a chance (I don't have to say a thing to those who have, the great majority of them would love to go again). It is, from my personal experience, one of the best vacation alternatives out there. With such a rich history and culture, you can't go wrong. Not to mention that it is far more affordable than most other comparable vacations.