The number of foreign tourists declined slightly in Turkey in the year 2015, for the first time in years, due to the deteriorating security situation in the country and leave the Russian visitors, according to official figures published Thursday.
The number of foreign visitors to Turkey 36.24 million people in 2015, compared to 36.83 million in 2014, a decline of 1.61%, as reported by the Turkish Ministry of Tourism.
The number of Russian tourists, who come especially for the average coastal resorts such as Antalya (south), a big drop with 3.65 million Russians in the last year, compared with 4.5 million in 2014.
Since November 28, it prevented the Russian travel agencies to organize trips to Turkey for security reasons, after the fall of the Turkish Aviation Russian fighter near the Syrian border.
In December, the number of Russian tourists fell by 46%, compared to the same period of 2014.
Overall, the number of tourists from the European continent fell by 1.75%, and that was evident among Italian tourists (-27%) and the French (-18%).
But the influx of tourists from the Middle East (+5.5%) and Southeast Asia (+11.3%) almost offset the European decline.
Since last summer, the deterioration of the security situation in Turkey affected by the renewed conflict in the Kurdish southeast of the country, which is witnessing fierce battles between security forces and PKK rebels. And added to that bloody attacks on Turkish territory and attributed to the organization Daash.
He commented Minister of Tourism and Culture of the Turkish Unal Maher on these figures, saying that "the decline in the number of tourists registered in 2015 could not be avoided because of terrorism facing the world as a whole."
He added: "We have to avoid anything that may expose Turkey's image safe at risk."
Identified Turkey, sixth tourist destination in the world today, a goal to receive 50 million tourists a year in 2023.
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