Israelis are punishing Turkey though an informal boycott, both by not visiting the country as tourists and by refusing to sell Turkish products in Israel. The reason for the boycott is the latest diplomatic tension between the two countries, which began last week when an international military exercise, which was supposed to be held in Turkey and to include the U.S. and NATO, were scrapped over Turkish opposition to Israel's participation.
The Israeli publication Arutz Sheva surveyed a number of tourist agencies in Israel and found that the demand for Turkish tourist resorts dropped in the last week. “The end of the season plus the crisis between Turkey and Israel have hit tourism severely,” a tourism agency representative told the publication.
In addition, Ilan's coffee chain in Israel announced on Sunday that it would stop selling Turkish coffee in response to the tensions, Israeli media reported. “We have decided for the time being to stop selling ‘Istanbul coffee’ - our Turkish coffee blend, and we shall keep doing it until matters improve,” Michael Steg, director of marketing for the large chain, told the Ynet news website.
An El Al official told Army Radio that many Israeli businesses have also decided to stop subsidizing employee vacations to Turkey during the high season of Passover, which usually sees up to 80,000 Israeli visitors to Turkish resorts.
This is not the first time Turkey, which is otherwise a favourite among Israeli tourists, has been harmed by a souring of relations. As BalkanTravellers.com reported in February, many Israelis threatened to chose other countries as their Passover destination, but by March, as a result of Turkish hoteliers’ appeals and very low prices, the situation seemed to return to normal.
Read more about Turkey on BalkanTravellers.com Use BalkanTravellers.com's tips to organize your trip to Turkey
