The Turkish tourism industry has been hit by the boycott imposed by Israeli tourists; this has been reported by the popular Turkish newspaper Hürriyet and is based on the reports from local tour organizers. According to Hürriyet the Turkish economy has lost about $400 million as a result of short term cancellations by some 50,000 Israel holidaymakers.

Reports from The Association of Turkish Travel Agents are even more pessimistic with the number of cancellations by Israeli tourists reported as being closer to 100,000; this following the Gaza flotilla incident which resulted in the deaths of 9 Turkish civilians. The newspaper quotes local tour operators as saying that the wave of cancellations has resulted in them losing millions of dollars and being forced to pay compensation to local hotels.

According to Turkish tour operators, the average Israeli tourist spends about $650 during their visit to Turkey, but since now there are so few Israelis there is a serious risk in continuing their business. They also claim that as a result of the Israeli boycott, hotel prices have plummeted with empty hotel rooms being sold at the last minute.

Several weeks ago leading Turkish tourism officials declared that the Israeli boycott was not causing any damage, because instead of tourists visiting from Israel, the Turkish tourist industry had recorded a significant increase in the number of tourists from Arab countries.