IHH Leader Yildrim Has No Clue Who Turkey's Best Tourists Are

Bulent Yildirim, the Turkish leader of IHH, the terrorist-connected group that helped sponsor the Mavi Marmara, is at it again.

Yildirim has decided that Jews are stingy and should not be allowed into Turkey:

Yildirim said that the town of Alanya was center for tourism that the Israelis come for vacation with cruise ships. He said, “They (the Jews) don’t leave a penny to the shopkeepers here. They don’t spend money but they come here. On behalf of our shahids I ask this of you. Unless they apologize, pay compensation, and lift the embargo (on Gaza) and unless their prime minister and their ministers that committed this massacre are put in jail, do not allow them to vacation here. Anyhow, if you think we should keep quiet for the money, these people are stingy. They don’t spend a penny”.

He apparently has no problem with Israelis staying away from Turkey--but the Turkish people themselves may not appreciate Yildirim chasing away their best customers:

The Turkish tourism industry has been seriously affected by the recent tension between former allies Turkey and Israel. The Turkish economy has lost at least $400 million due to reservation cancellations from Israeli tourists, according to tourism agencies.

Some 50,000 Israelis have cancelled their reservations indefinitely. Furthermore, the Israel Travel Agents Association has announced that it cancelled 100,000 reservations out of a total of 150,000.

The cancellations, which came after Israeli soldiers killed eight Turkish citizens and a American of Turkish origins on an aid ship headed toward the Gaza Strip, have created a $400 million loss for the economy. Tour operators in Turkey said they want to recoup their losses.

Levantin Tour, a tourism company has posted a 3.5 million Turkish Liras loss due to cancelled reservations, according to the owner of the company, Levent Güner. Levantin Tour has been bringing tourists from Israel to Turkey for the past 15 years.

“Our company’s main business channel has been cut,” Güner said. “Who will retrieve my 3.5 million-lira loss?”

I suppose Mr. Güner could always go to Mr. Yildirim, who surely has a way to make up for those measly millions those cheap Israelis were spending in Turkey in the past. Yildirim keeps this up and Turkey will be the ones who'll need a flotilla.

Of course, with all due respect for Yildirim, maybe he was talking about the situation now that Israelis are no longer visiting Turkey in the same numbers as before.

That's it--this is his way of encouraging them to come to Turkey to visit.
Reverse psychology--of course!

Technorati Tag: Turkey.