Support The Moscow Times!

1,300 Turkish Beach Hotels on Sale as Russian Tourism Dries Up

Around 1,300 hotels in Turkish beach resorts are up for sale after Russian sanctions and a series of terror attacks caused the number of tourists coming to the country to fall, Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman reported.

More than 3 million Russian tourists visited Turkey last year, or 15 percent of total foreign visitors. But following the downing of a Russian warplane over the Turkish-Syrian border last November, Moscow banned charter flights to the country and told Russians the risk of terrorism was too high to safely travel there.

Ten tourists died in a suicide bombing in Istanbul in January, and multiple terror attacks took place last year.

Abdurrahman Karamanlioglu, chairman of spa hotel Denizli Colossae Thermal, was quoted by Today's Zaman as saying a number of hotels in resort towns were left on the brink of bankruptcy by the Russian boycott. All-inclusive package beach holidays were particularly popular among Russians.

According to the newspaper, the properties up for sale on the Black Sea and Mediterranean coasts are together worth almost 39 billion Turkish lira ($13 billion).

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more