Ministry of Culture and Tourism has released statistics on tourists, stating that the number of tourists visiting Turkey decreased 28 percent in April, compared to the same month of 2015, showing the lowest level since 1999.
According to the data released by the ministry, the number of Russian tourists visiting Turkey also dropped 79 percent in April 2016.
While 215,761 Russian tourists visited Turkey in April 2015, and 149,879 in April 2014, the number dropped to 31,050 in the same month of 2016.
The number of Russian tourists visiting Turkey between January and April also saw a decrease of 67 percent in 2016. While 300,719 Russian tourists came to Turkey in the same time period in 2015, the number dropped to 97,177 in 2016.
After Turkey downed a Russian warplane over an airspace violation in late November of last year, Moscow launched several restrictions on Turkey, resulting in deepening revenue losses in Turkey’s tourism, agriculture and textile industries. The media has focused on the declining number of visitors to the country’s coastal resorts in reporting the effects on the tourism sector.