Turkey has lost its main advantage – high inflation in the country has destroyed its “main competitive weapon” – the ability to keep prices low. As a result, the Turkish tourist industry declares that Turkey is becoming uninteresting not only for Russian, but also for European tourists, on whom the local tourist business relies heavily.
“Turkey, which for many years has been the most competitive country for Mediterranean dishes in terms of price-quality ratio, has recently begun to lose this feature. The reason, of course, is the state of the country's economy,” Turizm Guncel reports. They also add that big increases in costs, from energy to food, from natural gas to staff costs, have inevitably taken their toll on hotel prices, with costs rising by more than a quarter before being forced to raise prices. As a result, “hotel prices in Turkey have become difficult not only for Russian, but also for European guests, not to mention local tourists.” This is exacerbated by a failed early booking season – as a result, Turkey is in for a tough season of “last minute bookings”, in which there will be a lot of price competition.
Interestingly, not only Russian tourists are considering whether to switch to Turkey to Egypt: the Turks themselves can spend their holidays in a 5-star hotel of the same group in Egypt cheaper than in Antalya, and therefore show great interest in holidays in Egypt. Also, an internal Turkish tourist became interested in Montenegro.
Also, Turkish experts assessed the changes in the Russian market, where, in addition to Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Thailand began to use increased demand. Recall, as Taras Kobishchanov, CEO of the Russian Express tour operator, said earlier, Turkey may lose two million Russian tourists by the end of 2023. Last year, Türkiye received about 5.2 million Russian tourists. The Turks expect to take more, but the figure may be less. “This year they planned to accept six million. I have serious doubts that this figure will be reached. And also that Türkiye will reach the level of last year. Most likely, about four million will come to Turkey,” Mr. Kobishchanov said. The reason is prices. “Tours to Turkey before the pandemic cost about 150-200 thousand rubles, in 2022 – 300-350 thousand rubles, and this year – 400-500 thousand rubles,” the expert estimated. Read more at this link.
In Europe, the situation is no better. According to local tour operators, Turkey's prices in the European market have already increased by 50%. At the same time, inflation in Europe itself is 10-12%. This also pushes the consumer to abandon Turkey and the expected growth in the number of tourists is under threat.
“Restoring the price balance in tourism depends on reducing inflation and ensuring price stability,” Turkish experts add. However, this is hardly achievable in the near future.
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