Tourism

Turkey?s tourism income decreased by 13.8 percent in the second quarter of the year, down $7.73 billion compared to the same period of the previous year, according to data from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜ?K). 

Switchfly, a global technology company that powers travel commerce, noted that 20% of the top 15 vacation spots for wealthy visitors were in Greece. The top destinations were ranked by Switchfly according to the length of luxury tourists’ stay. Athens was placed 4th after Seoul, Dubai and Milan.

Bulgaria loses at least 1 million Turkish tourists a year due to problems with visas, according to Cemal Tekkanat, adviser for tourism at Turkey's Tourism and Culture Ministry.

Tourists are returning to Greece in droves despite fears for capital controls and anti-austerity protests that are undermining the cash-strapped country’s economy. Hotel bookings may have suffered early in summer when the country teetered on the brink of default, however tour operators and airlines are now showing renewed vigor for Greece.

Some 10,000 holidaymakers had to leave three campsites in southern France on Monday due to a wildfire, thelocal.fr reported.

The fire broke out in early afternoon on Bagnols-en-Forêt road around the Pin de la Lègue campsite and spread on about 30 hectares of land near the town of Frejus. About  50 fire trucks, 200 firefighters, and water planes have been mobilized to fight the blaze.

Every bit can help, and so it is with mygreeksummer.com, a new initiative by the tourism component of the relevant ministry, which hosts images posted on social media – particularly Twitter — under the hashtag #greeksummer

Famous travel website Conde Nast Traveler followed the Guardian’s footsteps and invited readers to visit Greece despite the crisis in an article titled “Why we’re still travelling to Greece this summer.” Journalist Mark Ellwood noted that the country is in dire need of tourism and urged travelers not to cancel trips.

Greece’s relevant migration minister on Monday promised to establish camps for refugees and undocumented migrants that have continued to slip into Greece by the thousands since the beginning of the year, while also dismissing concerns the phenomenon has for the crisis-plagued country’s image as a tourism destination.

A dramatic rise in the number of five-star hotels in Turkey's biggest cities, especially in Istanbul, has pushed hotels to cut their room prices to remain competitive, but the trend is not sustainable, according to sector representatives. 

Turkey's growing medical tourism industry has been growing quickly, but the sector is eyeing even greater profits over the next decade, hoping to become the destination for the 650 million living in the region, according to the head of the Turkey Health Tourism Development Council With a know-how already well in advance of its neighbors, Turkey's health sector is now aiming to attract 2