ISTANBUL: Turkey’s tourism revenues fell 40% and foreign visitor arrivals dropped 54% in the first quarter, data showed on Friday, as coronavirus-driven travel restrictions continued to hit a sector crucial to foreign currency inflows.

Last year, the country’s tourism income plunged two thirds to just over $12 billion as the COVID-19 pandemic devastated an industry which generally accounts for up to 12% of the economy.

Forex brought in by tourists is key to financing Turkey’s usually gaping current account gap, which swung to a $36.7 billion deficit last year.

In the first quarter, revenues dropped to $2.45 billion, the Turkish Statistical Institute said. Foreign arrivals in Turkey fell to 905,322 in the same period, the Tourism Ministry said.

However in March, arrivals climbed 26% from a year earlier. The first coronavirus cases were recorded in mid-March last year and immediately put the brakes on tourist arrivals.

Concerns about this year’s tourism season in Turkey have been fuelled by a surge in coronavirus cases since early March to a peak of some 63,000 daily cases in mid-April. Turkey ranks fourth globally in terms of daily case numbers.

In a bid to curb the outbreak and boost the prospects of tourists returning this year, Turkey entered a lockdown on Thursday evening which will last until May 17.

Tourism hopes were dented this month when Russia said it would restrict flights to and from Turkey until June 1 due to a rise in COVID-19 cases, in a move coinciding with growing tensions between the two countries.

Russia is the biggest source of foreign visitors, with around 6 million Russians visiting Turkey annually before 2020. The total number of visitors to Turkey tumbled 69% last year to less than 16 million people, of which 12.7 million were foreigners.