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Khashoggi fallout: Saudi holidaymakers urged to shun Turkey
RIYADH, July 11, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Diplomatic fallout over journalist Jamal
Khashoggi’s murder appears to be slowing the flow of high-rolling Saudis to
Turkey, as calls grow within the oil-rich kingdom to boycott the holiday
magnet.
The two Sunni Muslim powers have a longstanding geopolitical rivalry, but
relations plumbed new lows after Khashoggi’s killing in October in the Saudi
consulate in Istanbul, which tainted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s
global image.
Each year hundreds of thousands of Saudi tourists visit Turkey, thanks to
its milder climate, turquoise waters and status as a crossroads between East
and West.
But tensions over the journalist’s murder are feeding into growing calls
by nationalists and pro-government media to boycott Turkey, potentially
hitting its already strained economy.
“Don’t go to Turkey” and “Turkey is not safe” are just some of the
headlines that have popped up, with multiple media outlets running hostile
stories in recent months.
Many, including Al-Arabiya, have splashed official warnings from the Saudi
embassy in Ankara about rising passport theft and petty crime.
The apparent scaremongering seems to be working, since the Turkish tourism
ministry reported Saudi visitor arrivals dropped more than 30 percent in the
first five months of 2019 compared to the same period last year.
A travel agency in Riyadh reported a similar fall in bookings to AFP,
although Saudi tourism authorities did not respond to a request for comment.
“I care about safety,” a young Riyadh resident told AFP, explaining why he
was likely to avoid Turkey.
– ‘Boycott call’ –
Saudis, who are also among the top property buyers and investors in
Turkey, spend an average of $500 (450 euros) a day as tourists in the
country, significantly higher than European visitors, according to a 2018
study by Riyadh’s King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.
Appeals for a boycott of Turkey are not limited to tourism.
MORE/FI/ 0845 hrs
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A video predating Khashoggi’s murder that showed Riyadh’s influential
governor Faisal bin Bandar declining an offer of Turkish coffee recently
resurfaced on social media, triggering a call for a boycott of Turkish
products.
Ajlan al-Ajlan, chairman of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
has been particularly strident.
“As the Turkish leadership and (President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan continue
their hostility and target the kingdom’s leadership, we call more than ever
before to boycott them… in all areas — imports, labour and dealings with
Turkish companies,” Ajlan wrote on Twitter last month.
Observers have drawn parallels with how Saudi Arabia flexed its financial
muscle by adopting punitive measures in recent diplomatic disputes with
Canada, Germany and neighbouring Qatar, now under a Riyadh-led economic
blockade for two years.
Turkish officials were the first to report Khashoggi’s murder and have
continued to press Riyadh for information on the whereabouts of his
dismembered body, which remains missing. The CIA has reportedly said the
murder was likely ordered by Prince Mohammed, a charge Saudi Arabia
vehemently denies.
Last month Prince Mohammed — heir to the Arab world’s most powerful
throne — warned against “exploiting” the murder for political gain, in what
appeared to be a veiled attack on Erdogan.
Even before the killing, Riyadh had testy relations with Ankara, a key
backer of Doha and accused of supporting Islamist groups including the Muslim
Brotherhood.
Saudi Arabia views the Brotherhood as an existential threat.
The boycott rhetoric could not have come at a worse time for Turkey as it
battles an economic crisis.
“The already suffering Turkish real estate market could be further damaged
by a mass exodus of Saudi property holdings,” Hussein Ibish, a scholar at the
Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, told AFP.
“That’s another big gun Riyadh hasn’t fired yet.”
So far however the data does not show damage to the Turkish property
market, with home sales to Saudi citizens from January to May 2019 up at 992,
compared with 977 over the same period last year.
– ‘Don’t go to Turkey’ –
The tensions come as Saudi Arabia — hit by a downturn in oil prices —
seeks to boost domestic spending, reversing a decades-long trend that has
seen citizens splurge cash overseas.
“Saudi Arabia is hitting two targets with one bullet — stop Turkey from
benefitting from Saudi tourists and convince Saudis to spend their money
domestically,” said Quentin de Pimodan, a Saudi expert at the Greece-based
Research Institute for European and American Studies.
And Abdullah, a 39-year-old Riyadh-based academic, laughed off the travel
warnings, telling AFP his family planned a Turkey visit this year.
“Saudis love going to Turkish restaurants” in their own country, said
Abdullah, who requested his full name be withheld.
“When they finish eating they write on Twitter: ‘Don’t go to Turkey’.”
BSS/AFP/FI/0840 hrs