Complaints about Turkish restaurants from tourists have increased by 200% compared to last year, the main reason being the exorbitant increase in food prices. Moreover, complaints are received mainly about resort restaurants. Experts warn that in this way the restaurant business is harming itself, because if a tourist votes with his wallet, then at least the middle segment of the restaurant business will simply go bankrupt.
This opinion was presented by the president of the Turkish restaurant association TÜRES, Ramazan Bingel, on the pages of the Turkish media. He said that after the Turkish long weekend, the number of complaints about price increases increased by 200 percent. And at least 30% of restaurants, especially in resort regions, really raise prices. “Some traders keep the profit margin, which should be 30-40%, at the level of 100-200%. Especially in resort regions,” he said.
According to him, the association is aware of this problem and is trying to fight it. He assured that TÜRES will hold a meeting with the Ministry of Treasury and Finance in the coming days and put this situation on the agenda.
The expert added that, on the one hand, they are trying to justify the increase in prices by the fact that the costs of food, energy, rent, and labor are also increasing in restaurants. However, the attempt to compensate for this at the expense of tourists leads to sad consequences – and for restaurants in particular.
“There is almost no restaurant left where people with an average income can go. The number of tourists in expensive restaurants is increasing, while the increase in prices led to a 30% drop in visitors in restaurants of the middle segment,” he said. According to the expert, this may lead to the fact that such restaurants simply have to close.
“The vision and mission in the restaurant sector must change. Otherwise, 50% of the sector will close the shutters – as a result, unfortunately, restaurants will either be too expensive or close. Unfortunately, there is no control mechanism in our sector, so we see these price jumps and unfair competition. We will discuss this issue with the Minister of Finance and Treasury Nureddin Nabati in the coming weeks,” the Turkish expert added.