The head of Turkey's Hoteliers Federation said on Monday the collapse of British tourism agency Thomas Cook means Turkey could see 600,000-700,000 fewer tourists annually.
In an interview, Osman Ayik told Reuters there are currently 45,000 tourists in Turkey that came from the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe via Thomas Cook.
The Federation's chairman added the company owes 100,000-200,000 pounds to some small hotels, which could suffer as a result of the collapse.
Thomas Cook collapsed after failing to secure rescue funding, and travel bookings for its more than 600,000 global vacationers were canceled early Monday.
UK's government said the return of the firm's 150,000 British customers now abroad would be the largest repatriation in its peacetime history, Reuters reported.
The process began Monday and officials warned that delays are inevitable.
The Civil Aviation Authority said Thomas Cook has ceased trading, its four airlines will be grounded, and its 21,000 employees in 16 countries, including 9,000 in the UK, will lose their jobs.
