Tourists look away from Turkey due to unrest
The prolonged unrest in Turkey’s main cities this month has had a growing impact on the country’s tourism.
According to a survey conducted by the Spanish section of booking search engine Trivago, searches for bookings at hotels in Turkey have declined by 89 percent since the start of the anti-government demonstrations compared with the same period last year. This figure rises to 99 percent as far as Istanbul is concerned.
The survey by www.trivago.es illustrates that although the unrest was mostly centered around in Istanbul’s main square, Taksim, various regions of the country have also been affected, as searches for hotels in Ankara and Izmir have declined by 86 percent and 95 percent on a yearly basis. The figures concern bookings for the period from this month up to September.
Hotel prices were forced lower as a result of the massive decline in demand, with the Trivago price list showing a 19 percent drop in rates for this summer season in Turkey.
