Turkish resorts in Antalya expect in the upcoming tourist season more than three million tourists from Russia, writes RIA Novosti with reference to the statement of the head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the province Davut Cetin.

Earlier, Turkish media reported that 12,679 Russian tourists visited Antalya in February, which is 35 times more than in February last year.

Chetin noted that the number of early bookings is growing in Russia and the shifts are generally positive. If the trend continues, more than three million tourists from Russia will visit Antalya this year.

According to Cetin, the number of tourists from Ukraine will increase, this year at least a million are waiting, when last year the figure was 572 thousand people.

Last year, tourism in Turkey was in crisis, caused by terrorist threats and deteriorating relations with Russia. Charter flights between Russia and Turkey were interrupted for nine months due to a crisis in relations between the two countries after a Turkish fighter jet shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber in Syria in November 2015. In this regard, the decline in tourist flow from Russia to Turkey in the first months of 2016 exceeded 90%.

The turning point in the situation came in the summer of 2016 after a letter from Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which contained an apology for the downed plane. On June 30, the President of the Russian Federation signed a decree abolishing the ban on charters to Turkey, and the Russian government on August 28 adopted a corresponding resolution, the first charter departed on September 2.

Source: RIA Novosti

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