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The Turkish tourism industry has hit hard following Russian sanctions imposed after Turkey’s decision to shoot down a Russian plane in Syrian airspace, reported Turkey’s daily Today’s Zaman.

As many as 1,318 hotels are up for sale now along the Aegean and Mediterranean, with 410 tourism facilities in the Mediterranean resort of Antalya worth TL 30 billion. Also, 908 hotels have sale prices of a total of TL 8.8 billion, the report elaborated.

The 908 hotels are located in different provinces including Muğla, which has 349 for sale; İzmir, 203; Aydın, 162; Balıkesir, 139; Çanakkale, 35 and Denizli, which has 20 in total listed. Moreover, the report pointed out that Turkey's tourism revenues fell 8.3 percent to $31.46 billion in 2015.

“A number of hotels in resort towns were left on the brink of bankruptcy after Russia imposed sanctions against Turkey after the latter downed a Russian warplane in November last year,” said Denizli Colossae Thermal Chairman Abdurrahman Karamanlıoğlu.

He went on to say “We talk the realities but officials put a brave face on the issue. We have been heavily affected from the jet crisis. Especially the hotels in Antalya; being closed for the last four months, most of those are on the verge of bankruptcy.”

In addition, tourism revenues which are heavily based on Russian and German tourists dropped after last month’s ISIL terrorist attack in central Istanbul, where 10 tourists [mostly Germans] were killed.

On the backdrop of the terrorist attack, Russia advised its citizens to cancel their visits to Turkey, adding more turmoil to an already stagnant industry.

On November 24, Turkish air force shot down a Russian jet and crashed a few miles into Syria, claiming it has violated Turkish airspace, whereas Moscow insisted the Su-24 stayed over Syria during its flight.

The incident provoked a deep political crisis between Ankara and Moscow. Since then, the two countries have been locked in a war of words. Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has ordered economic sanctions against Turkey.

The multiple sanctions on Ankara include banning agricultural trade with Turkey, reintroducing a visa regime, and suspending most bilateral economic projects, including the Turkish Stream gas pipeline construction project.

On a related note, Turkey has been caught red-handed in illegal oil trade with the terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq, as evidence unraveled on Ankara’s involvement being the main destination for the smuggled petrol.

Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov uncovered in a briefing in December 2015 that “A whole team of bandits and Turkish elites stealing oil from their neighbors is operating in the region,” adding that this oil “in large quantities” enters the territory of Turkey via “live oil pipelines,” consisting of thousands of oil trucks.

Similarly, Chief of National Centre for State Defense Control, Lt.Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev said that “Up to 2,000 fighters, 120 tons of ammunition and 250 vehicles have been delivered to the so-called Islamic State and al-Nusra militants from Turkish territory.”

Russia has been carrying out aerial anti-terrorist operations in Syria upon official request by Syrian president Bashar al-Asssad since September 2015. Russia’s Su-27 and Su-30 fighter jets, Su-34 and Su-24 tactical bombers, and Su-25 attack aircrafts have been carrying out airstrikes on ISIL and other al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist groups in Syria.