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Russian travel companies say no one cancelled trips to Turkey after quake

Russian travel companies are reporting no decrease in interest to Turkey as a vacationing destination after a powerful earthquake there

MOSCOW, October 25 (Itar-Tass) —— Russian travel companies are reporting no decrease in interest to Turkey as a vacationing destination after a powerful earthquake there, a source in the Association of the Russian Tourism Operators told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.

“The demand for Turkish resorts is not decreasing,” said Maya Lomidze, the association’s executive director. “No one has opted to cancel his or her trip to Turkey after the devastating earthquake.”

According to Lomidze, at the very beginning of the week travel companies received telephone calls from potential tourists who were worried over the situation at Turkish resorts but, according to travel companies, no one cancelled trips.

Russian tourists are not offered vacationing destinations in the Turkish province Van badly hit by the quake. On Monday, the Russian Tourism Agency said it had no information about Russians injured or killed in the quake.

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit the Van province in the east of Turkey on October 23. According to latest reports, the death toll from the earthquake has reached 366. Rescuers continue to clear up the debris hoping to find survivors.

According to statistics from the Russian Tourism Agency, a total of 2.367 million Russian tourists visited Turkey in 2010, against 1.964 million in 2009. It is expected that the number of Russian vacationers in Turkey will exceed 3.5 million in 2011.

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