Is it the Germany crisis in tourism now?
Apparently the reactions to Germany's approval of the genocide resolution will not come to an end. Reactions are at every level and unfortunately they are spreading in waves.
At one end of the spectrum is the harsh reaction of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan when he implied that Turkish-origin German MP Cem Özdemir's blood should be tested in a laboratory. There are headlines in certain media organs which read "Children of Hitler."
We saw the most unreasonable reaction from the heads of neighborhoods at the southeastern province Adıyaman. The Association of Adıyaman Village and Neighborhood Heads prepared posters with photos of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Özdemir decorated with German and Armenian flags with "We Condemn" written on them. Let us say, up to this point, this reaction is acceptable.
However, the same local heads, one-by-one, spat on the photos of the faces of Merkel and Özdemir and burned the posters; what would you say to that?
Instead of right-minded analyses and common sense, how much more can there be of such reactions? At the end of the day, Germany is Turkey's number one export market. Last year, Turkey's exportation to Germany reached $13.4 billion. There is a 36.8-billion-euro trade volume between the two countries. The number of German companies operating in Turkey is more than 6,000 and they create significant employment here.
The crucial point in economic relations is that the number of tourists arriving from Germany to Turkey, which numbers 4.7 million. In other words, Germany is the top country sending tourists to Turkey.
Thus, tourism circles I consulted are concerned that after the Russian crisis, this crisis with Germany may reflect on tourism. The dominant concern is...
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