Sunsail will not be operating its three Turkish watersports clubs this summer after falling foul of tightening Turkish legislation.
The operator, which is owned by TUI Travel, has run into trouble as the Turkish government becomes increasingly strict in enforcing rules which require 80% of staff working in its clubs to be Turkish.
A Sunsail spokeswoman said this is contrary to the operator’s own policy which requires 35% of the staff to be from the UK. This is due to the number of specialist staff required such as sailing instructors who need British Royal Yachting Association qualifications.
She added: “To meet the Turkish government requirements we will need to recruit and train Turkish staff to fill these specialist roles. This is why we have taken the difficult decision not ot operate our Sunsail clubs in Turkey this year.
“We will review this situation and decide on how we proceed in future years.”
The decision not to operate in Turkey this summer is limited to the clubs as the Sunsail yacht and flotilla programmes in the region remain unaffected.