MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The flow of foreign tourists to Turkey declined by 16 percent over the past four months, the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry said on Friday.
Just 1.75 million tourists arrived to Turkey in April 2016 which is 28 percent less than in a year ago, according to the ministry.
The report estimates that Ankara lost some 68 percent of Russian visitors over the first quarter of 2016. Just 2.76 million Europeans spent their holidays in Turkey over the past four months of 2016, the number 18 percent lower than in the first quarter of 2015.
Turkish domestic stability drastically degraded as the government launched military operation against Kurdish ethnic minority. In the recent time Turkey was hit by a surge of terror attacks, including bombing in Ankara.
A split between Moscow and Ankara over the downing of a Russian warplane by a Turkish fighter jet over Syria last November led to the cancellation of charter flights between the countries.
