According to media reports, some 80 percent of German citizens have ruled out Turkey as their summer holiday destination because of Ankara’s military operation against the Islamic State (ISIL) group and Kurdish militants.
BERLIN (Sputnik) – Some 80 percent of German citizens will be avoiding Turkey as their summer holiday destination because of Ankara’s military operation against the Islamic State (ISIL) group and Kurdish militants, the Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported Sunday, citing a survey.
Earlier in the week, the German Foreign Ministry issued a warning to tourists in Istanbul of possible terror attacks on the underground rail network and bus stops in the wake of the Turkish Armed Force’s airstrikes on the Kurdistan Workers Party’s (PKK) positions in northern Iraq.
According to the survey conducted by the Institute of Public Opinion Emnid, 81 percent of Germans ruled out a vacation in Turkey in the coming months, while 19 percent of holidaymakers were still willing to make the trip.
The findings also revealed that only 31 percent of German citizens did not pay attention to the level of terrorist threat in holiday destinations, as 68 percent made it top priority when choosing a resort.
Ankara launched a military campaign last week against ISIL jihadists in Syria and the PKK in northern Iraq, in response to an unprecedented escalation of violence across southern Turkey.
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