Azerbaijan, Baku, June 20 / Trend A.Tagiyeva /
As a result of the protests in Taksim Square, Istanbul hotels are empty by 55 per cent, the Association of Tourism and Hotels in Istanbul stated, Sabah newspaper reported on Thursday.
According to the statement, about 216,000 reservations were cancelled in Istanbul hotels. Damage from the cancellation of reservations only at hotels near Taksim Square amounted to €54.6 million.
As for shops, restaurants and cafes in Taksim Square, their damage from the protests amounted to 40 million liras.
Earlier the Tourism Association of Turkey (TUROFED) told Trend that a decline in occupancy was observed at various hotels in Istanbul during the protests, but then an influx of tourists to these hotels took place.
The association also stated that in the last five months of this year, Istanbul had been visited by more than three million foreign tourists.
Protests have been continuing in Turkey for more than 20 days. According to representatives of the authorities, the protests already have an anti-government character.The Turkish opposition parties also accused the police of using excessive force against the protesters.
Earlier, the Interior Minister of Turkey said an investigation is being carried out in connection with the use of excessive force against the protesters.