(Adds Jet2, details on British Airways)
By Ceyda Caglayan
ISTANBUL, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Turkey will be able to make up
for the number of tourists lost after Thomas Cook collapsed
earlier this week, Tourism Minister Mehmet Ersoy said on Friday,
announcing that several airlines are expected to increase
flights to the country.
Tourism is a major source of income for Turkey, helping to
rein in its current account deficit, especially in the summer
months. Around 40 million tourists visited in 2018, bringing in
$29.5 billion, according to official data.
The head of Turkey's Hoteliers Federation said on Monday
that Turkey could miss out on 600,000-700,000 tourists a year
following the collapse of Thomas Cook. The Tourism Ministry has
said earlier that it was working with the Finance Ministry to
extend a loan support package to businesses that were affected.
Speaking at a conference in Istanbul to announce Turkey's
tourism strategy, Ersoy said Easyjet had guaranteed that
it will provide additional capacity for 350,000 people annually
to Turkish holiday destinations.
Ersoy added that Turkish Airlines and its joint
venture with Lufthansa, Sunexpress, would each
schedule one additional flight per day to Dalaman Airport,
located near several Aegean coastal holiday destinations.
He said Britain's Jet2 airline is also expected to provide
additional flights and British Airways is expected to double its
flights to Dalaman to six per week as of next year and to
gradually increase its flights to the Mediterranean coastal
province of Antalya to six per week.
He said EasyJet, British Airways and Jet2 officials would be
in Turkey next week to discuss details and sign a deal on
agreements reached to increase flights.
(Reporting by Ceyda Caglayan; Writing by Ali Kucukgocmen
Editing by Dominic Evans and Louise Heavens)
