'Up to 500,000 Russians to visit Turkey'

Turkish Hoteliers Federation President Osman Ayık has said that up to 500,000 Russian tourists are expected to visit Turkey in nine months as Russia lifted its ban on charter flights to Turkey on Sunday.

Russia had banned charter flights to Turkey, a popular holiday destination for Russians, after the downing of a Russian air force jet by the Turkish military on November 2015, as the Russian jet violated Turkish airspace.

Russia's move to lift the ban followed Russian President Vladimir Putin's face-to-face meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on August 9.

Russia lifts ban on charter flights to Turkey

Russia on Sunday lifted its ban on charter flights to Turkey, the government said on its website.Russia banned charter flights to Turkey, which was a popular holiday destination for Russians, after the downing of a Russian air force jet by Turkey's military as the Russian jet violated Turkish airspace.

The two leaders got together in person in the city of St. Petersburg in Russia, for the first time after the jet crisis.

Erdoğan and Putin agreed to hold a face-to-face meeting following a letter written by Erdoğan, who expressed sorrow over the jet downing incident.

The meeting was an important milestone for the improvement of bilateral relations after the jet crisis in Nov. 24.

Source: 'Up to 500,000 Russians to visit Turkey'