The effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the tourism sector in Turkey: A comparative analysis with selected European Union countries

Today, with the increasing globalization, the tourism sector has become one of the fastest growing and most dynamic sectors in the world. Tourism is the activities carried out by people in the country or abroad for various purposes such as health, entertainment, business, leisure time and sports, for more than twenty-four hours and less than one year from the places where they live. The growth of the tourism sector not only causes economic devolopment, but also creates different positive effect for the host country. Because, together with the progress in tourism, the political, cultural and social environment is also positively affected. Through tourism, people can see other cities, spend their free time and participate in activities in other areas. İn this way, tourism is a very useful tool for the economic development of developing countries, as countries earn significant incomes in terms of economy. On the other hand, the Covid-19 virus, which emerged in Wuhan, China on December 31, 2019 and later spread to the whole World, had negative effects in the tourism sector as in other sectors. The main reasons for these negativities are the restrictions on travel within the country and abroad in order to prevent or minimize the losses of the countries, the closure of businesses such as restaurants, cafes and patisseries, the limitation of travel by air, the closure of tourism businesses, the implementation of curfews, mask and distance requirements and quarantine of those who carry the Covid-19 virus and their contacts. These measures have caused a decline in tourism activities in Turkey and European Union countries as well as all over the world. Today, with the easing of the effect of the pandemic and the relaxation of these measures, the negative effects on the tourism sector have decreased and the tourism sector has entered the recovery process again. In this study, the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the tourism sector of Turkey and five selected European Union countries were examined. While conducting this study, the tourism data of Turkey and five selected European Union countries were compared and it was concluded that the Covid-19 pandemic did not have a major negative impact on the tourism sector in the short term, but significant negative effects were reflected in the long term. Keywords: Tourism, Covid-19, Pandemic, Turkey.