TURKEY: 1,318 Hotels & Resorts For Sale, Affected By Russian Sanctions And Terrorists

As many as 1,318 hotels have been put up for sale along the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts after Russian sanctions along with security concerns hit Turkey's tourism industry hard.

The Mediterranean resort of Antalya has the highest number of tourism facilities, 410 that are listed for sale, followed by the provinces of Muğla, which has 349 for sale; İzmir, 203; Aydın, 162; Balıkesir, 139; Çanakkale, 35 and Denizli, which has 20 in total listed.

The total sale price of the 410 hotels in Antalya amounts to TL 30 billion, while the remaining 908 have sale prices of a total of TL 8.8 billion.
Denizli Colossae Thermal Chairman Abdurrahman Karamanlıoğlu said a number of hotels in resort towns were left on the brink of bankruptcy after Russia imposed sanctions against Turkey after the latter downed a Russian warplane in November last year.

“We talk the realities but officials put a brave face on the issue. We have been heavily affected from the jet crisis. Especially the hotels in Antalya; being closed for the last four months, most of those are on the verge of bankruptcy,” Karamanlıoğlu said.

Nearly two months after Russia advised its citizens to cancel their visits to Turkey, an Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militant blew up himself and 10 tourists; most of whom were German, in central İstanbul earlier this month, adding more turmoil to an already stagnant industry.
Russians and Germans represented the two largest groups of nationalities that visited Turkey in 2014. Turkey's tourism revenues fell 8.3 percent to $31.46 billion in 2015.

A large number of hotels in resort towns were left on the brink of bankruptcy after Russia imposed sanctions against Turkey, according the managing director of the Denizli Colossae Thermal Hotel, Abdurrahman Karamanlıoglu.

Moscow imposed sanctions after a Russian warplane was shot down by a Turkish fighter jet during combat operations in northern Syria. Sanctions included reintroducing a visa regime, and a travel warning against Russian tourists visiting the country. Travel agencies in Russia stopped selling tour packages to Turkey on the request by the Kremlin.

The measure added more turmoil to an already stagnant industry. Turkey's tourism revenue fell 8.3 percent to $31.46 billion in 2015, according to the Turkish online daily Today’s Zaman. The tourism industry accounts for 11 percent of Turkey's GDP.

The Turkish tourism ministry expects to lose 4.5 million tourists from Russia this year. As a result, the country could lose about $7 billion, according to analysts.