Reaction from many corners
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Minister of Culture and Tourism Atilla Koc's comments about Russian tourists brought forth responses from a variety of local and international sources. Here are some:
Dimitry Peskov, Assistant Press Secretary to Russian President Vladimir Putin: "I don't even want to consider that a Culture and Tourism Minister could speak like that....Russian tourists spend more money in Turkey than any other tourists. Russian tourists are not ill-mannered-maybe a little spoiled, but that's all."
Sergei Shpilko, Head of the Russian Travel Agents: "Turkey has become Russia's national holiday destination. Russians will also be loyal to Turkey when it comes to tourism. These small matters will not discourage Russians."
Alper Mackan, Turkish Tour Operator Group: "Tourism cannot handle gaffes like this one. Even during our economic crisis days, Russians supported us. Even when other tourists weren't coming, the Russians came and kept prices from falling further. Before they had credit cards, the Russians would come and spend cash."
Kemal Anadol, CHP Head MP: "The tourism season will open officially on April 15th in Van. But the Tourism Minister has opened the season already in Belen with a gaffe. No one has the right to mistreat the people making their bread money from tourism. The Russian people love Turkey, and they are our friends."