If Turkey wants to generate tourism revenue that matches the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s 2024 profit plan — which is 60 million tourists and $60 billion — then hotels urgently need to raise their prices.
As hoteliers told the Turkish publication Turizm Guncel, the fact is that the problem of rising costs due to inflationary pressure is becoming more and more difficult for hotels, since the growth of the exchange rate is significantly lower than the inflation rate. As a result, prices must be raised by at least 20%, and we are talking about currency rates – Turkish hoteliers say.
As the Turks explained, the country entered 2024 with high inflation rates, inflation — in the first three months, it amounted to 15.6%. At the same time, the growth of foreign currency exchange rates is lower than the inflation rate: the euro to lira rate increased by 6.19%, and the dollar – by 8.43%.
“The tourism sector cannot continue to experience such pressure on the exchange rate. Must raise prices by at least 20% in net foreign exchange to break even. Tour operators want to make a profit, but it is almost impossible under such circumstances,” the Turks assure.
However, they also point out that for a good price, from the point of view of hoteliers, “the implementation may not meet expectations”, that is, at a higher price, the tourist will “vote with his wallet simply will not go.