Turkey?s Tourism Juggernaut Stumbles on Protest Jul 25th 2013, 17:20
The protests in Taksim Square have slowed the growth in Turkish tourism according to a report from Reuters. Last year the UNWTO rated Turkey number six among the world’s top tourism destinations. International arrivals into Turkey rose only 1.04 percent to 31.78 million people so far this year. June’s arrivals rose at the slowest pace in the first seven months. The protests in June were widely covered by news media outlets around the world. Interestingly, Turkey's coastal resorts were less affected.
Visitor arrival figures grew in double-digits in April and May, and then slowed to 4.93 percent in June, the lowest rise since November. That indicates some negative impact on Turkey's already slowing economy, although the unrest has since eased. According to Turkey’s central bank data, tourism revenue stood at $22.8 billion in the 12 months to the end of May. Inbound tourism plays an important role in maintaining a balance between export and import revenues. With Turkey’s current account deficit at $53.6 billion, the country relies on tourism to hold the scales close.
Tourism rose by nearly 18 percent in May from a year earlier and by 13 percent in April. Slower growth in June meant Turkey drew only 4.07 million visitors, the data from the tourism ministry showed. Istanbul, the setting for most of the televised protests, was hit hardest by the slip in arrivals while arrivals to Antalya on the Mediterranean coast, for instance, rose around 8 percent in June from a year earlier against a rise of just 2 percent for Istanbul. It’s a pattern that has been happening in many countries experiencing social unrest in recent years. In the protests that rocked Bangkok in 2010, for instance, travelers flew directly to islands like Phuket, bypassing the capital. A similar pattern happened in Athens with their recent unrest.
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