2023-08-19 15:00:00
Kabak The boutique hotel “Olive Garden” used to be a real tourist magnet because of its spectacular location. Even guests from other properties dropped by to swim in the ocean-view pool and then dine at the on-site restaurant.
A lot is different this summer. Hotel owner Fatih Canözü often has to be satisfied with his own overnight guests. The expected rush does not materialize.
The main problem is the government’s current economic policy in Ankara, says the 43-year-old hotel owner from Kabak. “We have to raise prices because our costs for staff, meals and renovations are constantly rising.” He has no choice but to pass the growing cost pressure on to customers. “And then it just gets too expensive for some.”
With its large beaches in the west and south of the country, Turkey has long been known as a paradise for package travelers who value good value for money.
But that seems to be over for now. The massive inflation in Turkey is to blame. Recently, the depreciation of the currency has picked up speed again, it is currently more than 50 percent – and has long since left its mark on the tourism industry.
The Hotel Olive Garden in the Turkish coastal town of Kabak
Hoteliers and tour operators in the country are struggling with high prices and high government expectations.
According to the data service provider STR Global, the daily price of hotel rooms in Antalya rose by 37.4 percent year-on-year to an average of 110 euros. In the economic metropolis of Istanbul, you now even pay 138 euros. The European average is only slightly higher at around 140 euros.
The development is new – and has surprised many European tourists. Even in the winter season, German tour operators had advertised cheap long-term offers in Turkey, for less than 1000 euros you could spend a month all-inclusive on the Turkish Riviera. The bottom line is that the stay should be cheaper than living in Germany, where heating costs have continued to climb due to the energy crisis.
Blue Mosque, Istanbul
Hotel prices have risen sharply, especially in the economic metropolis of Istanbul. Tourists are the main victims.
(Photo: AP)
Hamit Kuk, board member of the Association of Turkish Tour Operators (Türsab), warns of serious competitive disadvantages. Turkey’s inflation is higher than that of its big competitors Spain and Greece. “Russian tourists, who are no longer allowed to travel to European holiday countries due to sanctions after the start of the Ukraine war, now prefer Egypt because of the higher prices.”
This is also due to the decline in the ruble. “Many Russians waited until the last minute to book their vacation and then they wondered about the prices,” says the tourism manager. He fears the problem could get even worse in the 2024 summer season. “High prices affect bookings the following year, especially for early bookers.”
Travel to Turkey: the number of tourists is falling massively
Taras Kobishchanov, vice-president of the Russian Association of Tour Operators (Ator), also addressed the problem in an interview with the Turkish business newspaper Ekonomim. Last year 5.2 million Russians came to Turkey, this year the number will drop to four million.
The income from tourism is of central importance for Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government are focused on reducing the stubborn current account deficit in a bid to get inflation under control.
The tourist post-Corona boom last year had aroused desires, and expectations were raised. This year, the industry should take in $56 billion, and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy is even targeting $100 billion in sales for 2028.
But the sector falls far short of expectations. 19.62 million foreigners traveled to Turkey between January and June, spending 21.7 billion US dollars, Ersoy announced in early August.
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“We have long warned against excessively high price increases,” emphasizes Deniz Ugur, who heads the tour operator Bentur, which specializes in vacations in Turkey. At the turn of the year there was a “strong early bird phase”, although the prices were not exactly low even then. “The increases were justified by high demand and the increased costs of energy and wages.”
Ugur refers to the post-corona effect in the 2022 summer season. “Turkey has benefited greatly from this.” Many hoteliers speculated that this boom would continue in 2023. “But that was a mistake,” says Ugur.
The numbers prove him right. According to Tourism Databank, the number of overnight stays in Greece rose particularly sharply compared to the previous year, by 143 percent. Italy (58 percent), France (45 percent) and Spain (35 percent) are behind. Only in Turkey did the number of hotel overnight stays fall by eight percent.
In fact, the battle for travelers is fierce, and what used to be a value-for-money paradise, Turkey, is often losing out at the moment. According to a comparison by the British Consumers Association, the cheapest weekly package holiday in Spain in the summer season costs around 807 euros. Turkey is more than 120 euros more expensive at 932 euros.
Kalkan old town
Many retailers complain about lost sales.
(Foto: mauritius images / robertharding)
Hotels now have to spend twice as much on energy, food and wages, says Mete Vardar, CEO of the Turkish tour operator Jolly Tur. Energy costs alone have risen by 180 percent.
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The high prices continue with the excursion programs. A study by the ticket search engine Ticketlens has shown that the prices for tours and admission tickets worldwide have risen by an average of 18 percent over the past four years. Turkey leads the ranking with an average increase of over 35 percent.
A visit to the new historical museum in Istanbul’s Ayasofya Mosque costs 1,000 lira, the equivalent of 34 euros. For comparison: the British Museum in London does not charge admission, access to the Pergamon Museum in Berlin currently costs twelve euros, and the Louvre in Paris costs between 15 and 17 euros.
Discounts on trips for last-minute travelers
In order to generate sales after all, many organizers are now using discounted prices to attract those who decide on the spur of the moment. Since the beginning of July, last-minute business has been going well for the first time in years, says Bentur boss Ugur. “That was good for us as a tour operator, but for the hotelier it could have been a losing proposition.”
Some companies in the sector are already reacting to the developments. The British airline Easyjet and Wizz Air from Hungary have canceled several flights to Antalya and Dalaman for the coming winter.
Another reason for the lull is likely to be boycott calls from the Arab world. In recent years, more and more guests from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have come to the beaches of the Turkish Riviera. A wealthy audience that also spent a lot of money outside of the hotels.
However, in the past campaign for the presidential elections, opposition Turkish parties in particular had demanded that entry be made more difficult for migrants and tourists from the Arab world.
Since then, many well-known Arabs have been calling for a boycott on social media and warning of the alleged dangers of a trip to Turkey. An international delegation of Islamic scholars made a special trip to the Turkish capital and met with President Erdoganto raise the issue at the highest level.
Bentur boss Deniz Ugur calls for new concepts in the industry to overcome the crisis. All-inclusive hotels, for example, still often have all alcoholic varieties in their range, although schnapps, wine and the national drink raki have become more and more expensive due to tax increases. Ugur calls for such spirits to be removed from the range. “We need cheaper base prices,” he says.
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