Terrorism in Turkey scares tourists away, hoteliers say

DIYARBAKIR/VAN, Turkey

The recent surge in terrorist attacks in eastern and southeastern Turkey have significantly hurt regional tourism, according to hotel owners.

"Our business has been hugely dampened over the past three months due to terrorism. All reservations have been cancelled until the end of the year, dropping the occupancy rate to around 5%. There are no new reservations coming in, either," General Manager of Dedeman Diyarbakir Hotel, Mustafa Eryilmaz told Anadolu Agency on Sunday.

"The other hotels are in the same situation too. If things don't improve, the hotels will shut down one by one," he said.

Following a suicide bomb attack in July -- blamed on Daesh -- in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa that killed over 30 people, the terrorist PKK organization has renewed armed attacks especially targeting Turkish military and police forces.

Since July, more than 100 members of the security forces have been martyred and hundreds of PKK terrorists killed in operations across Turkey and northern Iraq, including airstrikes.

The renewed violence has not only threatened the ‘solution process’ officially initiated in early 2013, aimed at ending the 30-year conflict between the PKK and the Turkish state, but it also hurt tourism, causing a huge drop in the number of foreign visitors, according to officials.

The number of foreign guests staying at regional hotels over the first eight months of 2015 has dropped by more than 50%, down to 3,685, according to figures provided by the provincial directorate of culture and tourism in Diyarbakir. That number was 6,264 over the same period last year.

Similarly, the number of foreign tourists visiting Mount Nemrut in Adiyaman province, which has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1987, dropped from 14,805 to 8,203 over the past year.

General Manager of Turistik Hotel in Diyarbakir, Aziz Iliksu, said the hotel occupancy rate in the area has fallen under 10% following the terrorist attacks, whereas it was more than 90% over the same period last year.

"Although we are in high season, we have no guests to host. Most hotels have had to lay off staff. A lot more people will lose their jobs if it continues like this," he said.

Head of DIKTUM-DER Culture, Tourism and Music Association in Diyarbakir, Kenan Aksu, said the terrorist attacks, which include road blockages, stopping and setting fire to vehicles, and blowing up bridges in addition to bomb attacks targeting security officers, also hurt local business owners, bringing them to the "verge of bankruptcy".

"There are no more words left to say. I hope tomorrow will not be worse than today," he said.

On average, around 200,000 people visit the eastern and southeastern regions of Turkey a month while over two million local and foreign tourists travel to the area every year.