MOSCOW, August 31 (Itar-Tass) —— Russia’s Association of Tourist Operators /ATOR/ suggests organising a special commission to provide health security for Russian citizens in Turkey.
The association has forwarded its suggestions to Rostourism, Rospotrebnadzor, Turkey’s Embassy in Russia, and to Turkey’s Healthcare Ministry.
The Association’s Executive Director Maya Lomidze said that “at this critical moment all involved authorities should react without delay to the situation and should undertake actions to provide security of life and health of Russian tourists.”
The special commission, as the tourist operators see it, should prepare obligatory sanitary and epidemiological rules and norms for Turkey’s accommodation facilities, which serve Russian tourists, and to control compliance with the norms.
The tourist operators express concern about many recent complaints from Russian tourists about the sanitary and epidemiological situation in many hotels of that country.
“Over several past months, we have registered over a hundred cases of food poisoning of Russian tourists, including those of children,” the Association said. “These incidents not only affect the image of the Turkish tourist business, but they also make a false impression that Turkey is a country, which is not favourable for visiting by Russian citizens.”
The latest case Russians got food poisoning occurred on August 28, where 103 Russian citizens, who stayed at the Alara Rark Hotel in Alanya, complained about food poisoning. Russia’s Consul General in Antalya Alexander Tolstopyatenko said that all of them had received necessary medical aid, and those who had been taken to hospitals, left them several days later.
“We have forwarded a request to investigate into the situation to Antalya’s Governorship and to the Healthcare Department,” he said.
Last Tuesday, Russia’s Civil Chamber started putting together a special list of foreign hotels, which are potentially hazardous for staying. The anti-rating will be of recommendation character and it is being drafted first of all to assist Russian tourists, the Chamber’s expert of the working group Dmitry Davydenko said.
“We see the main target of our work in the effort to isolate the Russian tourist market from dishonourable and non-professional foreign partners, and thus to provide for maximum secure holidays of our citizens,” he said.