Pursuits
Istanbul Bomb Targets Tourism Already Reeling on Putin Snub
- Suicide attack left 10 people dead, all foreign nationals
- Blast compounds misery for industry hit by Syria spillover
Tourists at the Sultan Ahmet Mosque in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey.
Photographer: Kerem UzelBloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
A suicide bomb in the heart of Europe’s largest city didn’t just target innocent tourists, it also hit a $32 billion industry already caught up in the conflict next door.
No one made a greater contribution to Turkey’s tourism receipts last year than Russians and Germans, who have helped make the country the world’s sixth most-popular holiday destination. Russians are staying away from Mediterranean resorts because of a political row over the war in Syria. Now Germans have been affected in the most-visited square in Istanbul, accounting for all of the 10 people left dead on Tuesday morning.