The tourism industry’s total loss over 2016-2018 may hit $30bn, Oya Narin, head of the Tourism Investors’ Association, told Hurriyet.

A detailed plan aimed at helping the sector recover from its losses has been prepared and will soon be presented to Culture and Tourism Minister Numan Kurtulmuş, Narin said.

“Our three-year loss may hit $30bn if problems remain unsolved next year. The sector has been facing serious financial hurdles. A financial support system specially designed for the sector would help a lot,” she told the newspaper, adding that the sector’s 2016-2017 loss would likely be $22 billion.

The country’s tourism industry has suffered from tensions with Europe and Russia - rows with Moscow led to charter flight bans from late 2015 but these were removed following a rapprochement between Ankara and Moscow - and anxiety over the wave of terror attacks that occurred in Turkey during 2016.

The number of foreign tourists increased by 43% y/y to 3.5mn in June, after rising 18% y/y in April and 16% y/y in May, the latest data from the tourism ministry showed. In the first half of 2017, foreign tourist visits rose by 14.05% y/y to 12.25mn.

“Bookings for Turkey are having a turbulent time this year, although the country is performing better than a year ago,” CEO of German holiday reviews and booking site Holidaychecks said August 8.

The performance of Turkey is something like a rollercoaster ride, company chief executive Georg Hesse added, saying that he expected Turkey's troubled tourism market to recover in the long run.