Eighty percent of German citizens do not want to vacation in Turkey due to political developments in the country, according to a survey conducted by the German Tagesspiegel newspaper, Deutsche Welle reported on Wednesday.
The survey was conducted between March 6-12 by the Civey polling company with the participation of 5,047 people.
While 80 percent of the Germans who took part in the survey said they do not plan to go to Turkey for a vacation, 66.8 percent said they will never go to Turkey.
One out of five people who took the survey said they have not been influenced by the political developments in Turkey and could travel there.
Relations between Berlin and Ankara had been strained following a failed 2016 coup and the arrest by Turkish authorities of tens of thousands of people including German nationals.
According to data from the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry, there was a 26 percent rise in the number of tourists from Germany to Turkey in 2018 compared to the figures in 2017. Following Spain and Greece, Turkey is among the most popular holiday destinations among Germans.
Turkish-German relations have been strained again over the past week due to remarks by Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, who vowed to detain and deport tourists at airports if they are suspected of links to terrorism.
Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu on March 5 said it would no longer be possible to act like a traitor overseas by attending events of terrorist organizations targeting Turkey and then come and enjoy vacation resorts in the country.
Germany on Saturday changed its travel advice for visitors to Turkey, warning its citizens that they risked arrest for expressing opinions that would be tolerated at home but may not be by Turkish authorities.
Source: Turkish Minute
