Turkey fires hit tourism sector hard
Evacuation of tourists from Bodrum, Turkey, August 5, 2021. REUTERS - STRINGER
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3 min
Unprecedented fires are ravaging southern Turkey, where eight people have lost their lives, although the situation appears to be stabilizing thanks to providential rains.
Forest fires have affected very touristic regions of the coast such as Antalya, Muğla, Marmaris or even Bodrum.
Some 110,000 hectares have already gone up in smoke.
As firefighters try to extinguish the last outbreaks, tourism professionals are worried about the economic fallout.
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After the flames, it is now an economic fire that the authorities will have to extinguish, reports our correspondent in Istanbul
,
Céline Pierre-Magnani.
The seaside resort of
Bodrum
is particularly affected.
Several thousand people have been displaced and some hotels, such as the luxurious Titanic, had to be completely evacuated by boat.
The images are spectacular and they have circulated a lot on social networks.
Fear took hold of tourists and many preferred to pack their bags or cancel their reservations.
The town hall is multiplying the messages to reassure visitors, but the damage is done.
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To read also:
Mediterranean: Greece still in the throes of flames
A sector already damaged by the Covid
The Turkish “Saint-Tropez”, which welcomed more than 4 million tourists in 2019, is one of the most popular destinations in the country.
The tourism sector has suffered greatly from the anti-Covid measures.
Traders speak of an 80% loss in turnover last year as hoteliers and restaurateurs welcomed the end of the confinement with relief even if in the spring tourists were not affected by the
total confinement
imposed on the Turkish population. .
But the timid improvement in the sector was only short-lived because of the fires.
Turkey will therefore have to rely on other financial blows to limit the economic crisis which is eating away at it.
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See also:
Fires in Turkey: tourists evacuated to Bodrum, Erdogan criticized
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