Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy told Sputnik on Thursday that his country hoped to resume air traffic with Russia in the middle of July, now that the COVID-19 epidemic seems to be way past its peak in Turkey and starting to decline in Russia
ANTAKYA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st May, 2020) Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy told Sputnik on Thursday that his country hoped to resume air traffic with Russia in the middle of July, now that the COVID-19 epidemic seems to be way past its peak in Turkey and starting to decline in Russia.
"We are pleased to note that the number of new coronavirus cases quickly decreases on a daily basis. Therefore, we are gradually lifting restrictions. Domestic tourism will resume by the end of May, and we hope to resume flights to many European and Asian countries by the middle of June, ... as well as to Russia in the middle of July," Ersoy said.
Turkey is among the first countries that have completed arrangements to stabilize the tourism sector per the international health and tourism standards, according to the minister.
Ersoy added that his ministry and their Russian partners were now holding talks to allow people to travel to Turkey and resume cross flights.
"We are awaiting a visit of around 3,5 million Russian tourists this year after the resumption of air traffic between the two countries," Ersoy said, expressing hope that Moscow and Ankara would reach an agreement on the matter.
The minister, however, has noted that the country expects a 40 percent decrease in the overall number of travelers this year.
Earlier in the month, Turkey unveiled its Healthy Tourism Certification Program, which will include a range of measures to ensure the safety of passengers and employees, as well as precautions at relevant facilities and transport. The certification of hotels is due to start this month, according to the Tourism Ministry. By June 1, the Turkish authorities will publish a list of certified facilities.
Turkey eased the lockdown measures after seeing the daily coronavirus infection rate significantly decrease in the country over the recent weeks. On Wednesday, it registered the lowest daily number of new COVID-19 cases since March 25.
Meanwhile, the daily growth of the infections in Russia has also started to decline. On Wednesday, the number of recoveries � 9,262 � for the first time surpassed the daily increase of new cases � 8,764 � indicating that the country has passed the peak of the epidemic.
