Pandemic tourism in Turkey

TOURISTS IN TURKEY are already spoiled. The food is excellent, the locals welcoming and the range of holiday options, from mountain hikes on the Black Sea coast to boat cruises on the Aegean and hot-air balloon rides over Cappadocia, are enough to last several summers. A prolonged currency crisis has seen the dollar strengthen against the lira by nearly 60% in just over two years, meaning that vacations in Turkey come cheap. A room in a luxury hotel can easily cost less than a cramped offering from Airbnb in a European capital. If they can only resist tweeting their thoughts about Recep Tayyip Erdogan (at least 36,000 people have been investigated for insulting Turkey’s thin-skinned president in a single year), foreigners will be in for a treat.These days, they will also be in for a surprise, though whether it is a welcome one depends on one’s idea of a rewarding vacation. To resuscitate tourism, Turkey has declared holidaymakers exempt from covid-19 lockdowns. With locals ordered to stay home from late April until at least until May 17th, following a surge in infections and deaths, tourists have had the country almost to themselves. Foreigners in Istanbul walk down empty streets and board empty ferries. On the Mediterranean coast, they laze on empty beaches and go for long, lonely swims. Turks caught doing the same have been plucked out of the water by gendarmes and fined 3,180 lira ($380), more than the monthly minimum wage. Locals cannot buy alcohol during the lockdown, the result of a government ban. Foreigners can drink freely at hotels.