Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the Turkish tourism sector has reached a level that qualifies it to compensate for the losses that it has incurred due to the Corona pandemic, and even exceed it.
“With regard to the tourism sector, in a short time we have reached a level that compensates for our losses,” Erdogan said during a speech in the northeastern province of Rize, according to the official Anatolia Agency.
The Turkish president added: “Inflation is not only our problem, but the problem of the whole world and the euro area is dealing with the highest rate in the last ten years.”
In early July, official data showed that inflation in Turkey jumped to its highest level in two years, reaching 17.5%.
The number of foreign tourists coming to Turkey during the two years of the pandemic decreased, after the number in 2019 reached 4 million.
The Turkish tourism sector contributes up to 12 percent to the economy and is a major source of foreign revenue to offset the large imbalances in the trade balance.
Activity is expected to rebound to approach pre-pandemic levels, although early season cancellations after a spike in virus cases led to partial public isolation measures in May.