Turkey shuns Mediterranean Fair in Israel

For the first time since its inception in 1994, Turkey will not participate in the International Mediterranean Tourism Market in Israel. The fair will be held on February 56, 2013 in the Tel Aviv Exhibition Grounds. To date, as Al-Monitor online reports quoting Maariv daily, 19 countries have committed to participating in the fair. Turkey decided to withdraw its participation as a result of the tense relations between the two countries. The Turks threatened to cancel their participation last year, but came at the last minute. As representatives from the Turkish Tourism Office explained, "every year, we invest a lot of money in our participation in the fair. If Israelis are boycotting Turkey, there is no point from our perspective in investing money that wont bring any benefit. The fair won't cause Israelis to come back to Turkey."