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Turkey expects flow of tourists from Russia to decline by 40% in 2020

22 May 2020 07:24 (UTC +04:00)

The flow of Russian tourists to Turkey may decline by 40% in 2020 due to the situation with the coronavirus, Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Ersoy said in an interview with TASS on Thursday, APA reports.

"This year we expect the number of Russian tourists to decrease by almost 40%. We will resume promotion (of tourism - TASS) by June and as part of it we will focus on the standards of hygiene and the health infrastructure of Turkey," the minister stressed.

According to Ersoy, "even in peak periods of the pandemic, the occupancy rate of hospitals [in Turkey] was 65%."

"In particular, in the resort areas of Antalya and the Aegean Sea, the number of cases (of coronavirus infection - TASS) was small. Turkey successfully coped with this situation. It is important to remember that hotels in Turkey are quite new and meet higher standards compared to European ones, "the minister added.

The first coronavirus case in Turkey was confirmed on March 10. It was a local resident who had returned from Europe. To date, total number of people infected in the country has exceeded 152,000, 4,222 people have died, 113,987 have recovered.