A new survey conducted last week found that 72% of Israel's employee committees' have decided to continue boycotting Turkey's vacation spots, following the tensions indiplomatic relations between Jerusalem and Ankara, noted in early 2009.
The poll was conducted by the Veadim Group, which centralizes information regarding the employee committees' financial activities. The survey was held ahead of Israel's annual tourism fair, scheduled to take place in July.
Employee committees' are a significant part of the tourism industry, marketing special vacation deals, both in Israel andabroad, to their members.
Among the organizations which will not include Turkey in their travel packages are industry staples the likes of the First International Bank of Israel, El-Al, Egged, the Agricultural Research Organization, ECI, Elektra, Israel Refineries LTD., The Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry, the Israeli Technological Institute, Haifa Port and the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), to name a few.
Last week saw some 40 tourism executives from Turkey arrive in Israel for a series of meetings with their Israeli counterparts. The meetings were arranged by the Turkish Transportation Ministry and the Turkish Embassy in Israel.
Turkish Ambassador to Israel Namik Tan also took part in the meeting. Ankara's representatives hoped aloud that Israeli tourists will once more flock to Turkish hotspots.