Unrest costs Turkey tourists from KSA

The political protests that have erupted in a number of Turkish cities is expected to reduce the number of Saudi tourists by more than 50 percent in comparison with last year's figures, which exceeded 200,000 visitors.
Turkey has received in excess of 320,000 Saudi tourists in two years, being the destination of choice, according to travel experts.
Protests erupted in recent days following public outrage over the demolition of a park in Istanbul. The protests quickly spread to other cities and grew rapidly as the weekend began, with more than 10,000 people gathering in Taksim Square.
Nasser bin Aqeel Al-Tayyar, president of Al-Tayyar Travel Group, said: "It is expected that fewer than 100,000 Saudi tourists will spend their summer vacation in Turkey with the current political unrest. Approximately 400,000 Saudi tourists were expected this summer across many Turkish cities, most notably Istanbul."
"Many clients have postponed their trip to Turkey and other have simply canceled their reservations. Nevertheless, there are other European countries that are a suitable alternative to Saudis," Al-Tayyar told Arab News.
Hussein Aas, media and cultural adviser at the Turkish Consulate in Jeddah, said: "Up to 120,000 Saudis visited Turkey in 2011 and 200,000 in 2012. This year, we were hoping to break the record with double the number of tourists as the previous year."
Aas said Turkey has a solid tourism infrastructure. "We are keen on building a strong and established relationship with the tourism sector in Saudi Arabia with the aim of familiarizing tourists with Turkey's rich natural landscape and its historic significance," said the diplomat.
Local tourism experts have predicted that the political uprisings in Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and other Arab countries has had an impact on vacation choices. In fact, Europe and Southeast Asia remain the destinations of choice for many Saudi tourists in light of developments in the Middle East.
According to local travel agencies, 20 percent of Saudi tourists prefer to spend the summer vacation in the Kingdom, as the month of Ramadan is due to begin July 9, coinciding with the beginning of school holidays. Around 30 percent of Saudis who intend to travel this summer have chosen to visit Turkey.