Thaw in Turkish-Russian Relations Not to Reduce Tourist Flow to Crimea

The possible thaw in Moscow-Ankara relations will not decrease the number of tourists in Crimea, Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksenov said Tuesday.

SIMFEROPOL (Sputnik) — On Monday, the Kremlin's press office published a statement saying that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had sent a letter to Putin saying he was interested in resolving the conflict triggered by the 2015 Turkish downing of a Russian jet in Syria and offering condolences to the family of the killed pilot.

"It won't influence tourist flows, as all tours and tickets are sold out, so nobody will be able to redirect physically," Aksenov told reporters.

There has been a 35-percent decline in Turkey’s tourism industry, underlined by a fivefold drop in the number of Russian tourists visiting resorts in Turkey's Antalya alone in comparison to last year, according to the Antalyan tourism department.

Turkish-Russian relations deteriorated after a Turkish F-16 fighter shot down the Russian Su-24 combat jet near the Turkish border in Syria on November 24, 2015. The jet was carrying out anti-terrorist operations in Syria. The crew of the plane ejected and one of the pilots, Oleg Peshkov, was killed by ground fire, while the second pilot survived.

Following the incident, Moscow imposed a number of restrictive measures on Turkey and has repeatedly said that Ankara should apologize for downing the plane and cover any material losses to the country and the pilot's family.