Is Israeli boycott of Turkey over? Aug 03, 2009
Tour operators noted a sharp increase in Israeli interest for hotels and beaches of Antalya, Turkey, particularly during the last few days.
During last week, there were 2,500 Israelis taking flights to Turkey, which is 150 times more compared to the same period of last year. It is worth noting that in comparison with the same period of 2008, the number of Israeli tourists choosing Turkey as their vacation destination has actually decreased by 60%.
Specialists in the tour industry are still finding difficulty in answering the question whether or not a sudden jump in visits to Antalya marks the end of the Israeli boycott of Turkey, triggered by the harsh critic of the January Operation Cast Lead by the Turkish minister.
Most of the operators mention the fact that big players are returning to the Turkish market – labor unions of large companies, which organize collective vacations for the employees during the celebration of the Jewish New Year.
If the most optimistic forecasts of the representatives of the tourist business will come true and Israelis will return to Antalya beaches, the decrease of Israeli tourism to Turkey will only still show a decrease of 20% compared to 2008.
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