Russian row may provide chance to restructure tourism sector

The political crisis with Russia will have serious consequences on the tourism sector, as Turkey will experience a drastic fall in the number of visiting Russian tourists. While there will be no quick fix to the problem, this should serve as an occasion to restructure the sector, says Bahattin Yücel, a former minister of tourismThere will be a dramatic fall in the number of Russian tourists coming to Turkey after Moscow instructed its citizens not to go to Turkey after Turkish jets drowned a Russian warplane on Nov. 24. While it will be difficult to compensate for the losses in the short term, the development could serve as an opportunity to restructure Turkey's tourism sector, which is still based on a conventional design, according to a former tourism minister. 

The sector should shift to online sales, while Turkish Airlines should introduce flights between targeted markets and touristic airports in Turkey like Antalya, Dalaman and Bodrum, said Bahattin Yücel. 

Can you first tell us, what was the share of Russians in the Turkish tourism sector?

Turkish-Russian tourism cooperation reached a level that could not have been imagined during the Cold War period. When I visited Russia in 1996 as a tourism minister, we were talking about not fully filling the potential. In the course of the past 20 years, the developments in the tourism sector have been really remarkable. One of the reasons for that is that the mental borders between the two countries were lifted; in addition, Turkey lifted visa requirements. The majority of Russian tourists come from the regions west of Moscow. A flight between that region and Antalya is approximately two-and-a-half hours, and that is a huge advantage that no one can compete with us on.

In 2014...