The Danish-Swedish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan’s burning of the Koran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm has led to strong reactions in the Muslim world.
Sweden’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has not yet given any special advice to Swedes traveling, says that they are following developments closely, and that “the general advice is always to avoid demonstrations and other situations that could develop into unrest as far as possible”.
– But that recommendation does not only apply to Turkey, but to several other countries as well, says Svante Liljegren, head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ consular unit.
No threat to Swedes
– There is no elevated threat image against Swedes in Turkey, but it cannot be ruled out that you may encounter some outrage, says Svante Liljegren.
The travel company Solresor has Turkey as its most popular destination. Since the protests against Sweden gained momentum, the company’s bookings to Turkey have decreased by 60 percent.
– There is a significant drop since last weekend and the drop is continuing, says Emanuel Karlsson, CEO of Rolfs Travel Group, which includes Solresor.
Is this due to the reactions against Sweden after Paludan’s Koran burning?
– Yes, there is no other explanation. And I get it, people are worried and wondering what could happen.
More vigilant
At the charter giant TUI, bookings to Turkey were stable until a week or so ago.
– Then we started to see a clear decline in bookings, compared to the turn of the year. Customers are choosing other destinations, says Adam Györki, head of communications at TUI.
The travel company Apollo also offers trips to Turkey. However, the real charter season only starts in May and so far there is no direct drop in bookings. However, one notices that there is a certain decline in interest in Turkey.
– There are also more customers contacting us with questions. You are more vigilant, quite simply, says Sandra Miller Kinge, communications manager at Apollo.
Emanuel Karlsson at Rolfs Travel Group believes that the situation will probably turn around again soon.
– We think this will blow over quite quickly.