Reducing prices for accommodation in Turkish hotels has changed the “level” of travelers coming to Turkey from Europe: in the new season, tourists choose the cheapest all-inclusive options, eat the whole buffet completely, and are ready to bargain for half an hour in local shops. money to get the desired discount of one or two euros.
According to Turkish media, the tourist season in Antalya has started and sellers of travel gifts and clothing have already identified the tourists who come as guests who do not want to spend money.
For example, in Manavgat, where 5.5 million tourists spend their holidays each year, pandemic restrictions have made the last two years very difficult for tourism and local businesses. Currently, although the codex in Turkey has been “said goodbye”, local traders do not see former foreign guests from Ukraine, Poland, Russia, Belarus, and the CIS, who buy their products without bargaining. According to him, the purchasing power of tourists from Iran, Iraq, and other Arab countries was usually not expected. The main income was brought by European tourists, mainly Germans.
However, the discounts of Turkish hoteliers for food accommodation did not attract the segment that local traders expected. What can tourists afford to buy if they come to a hotel worth 30 euros a day? – Some market businessmen asked. Others were outraged by the pricing for tourists from Europe: “All-inclusive” for 320 euros with a flight to the UK for a week, 350 euros – for Germany for 10 days… you need to understand that a tourist who comes for such a holiday does not shop.
“It is a pity that five-star hotels are higher than the tourism criteria set by the World Tourism Organization, now sold for only 20-30 euros per night. We must attract tourists to our country and Antalya with the spending potential that we lost in the 2000s. To attract high-quality and bold tourists to Antalya, it is necessary to introduce universal legal norms of the European Union (EU) in the judicial system and all other areas. If this is not done, imagine that European tourists with low solvency will come to us, “said tourism expert Guldal.
The newspapers quoted the chairman of the Association for Aid and Solidarity with Traders in Managavta. His words clearly explain the situation in Turkey: now tourists who leave Germany for a low hotel price, are Arabs. Formally, these are citizens of a European country who say at the time of booking that they are German. However, local businessmen understand that Arab vacationers will not buy anything more than what is offered at the hotel. The difference is that real Germans do not skimp and buy goods at resorts without bargaining.
According to him, for tourism artisans in Turkey to breathe a sigh of relief, it is urgent to attract high-quality and solvent tourists from Europe to Antalya, as it was 18 years ago and added that a tourist who spends half an hour negotiating in the market to buy clothes for 1 euro cheaper, will not contribute to the development of tourism in the region.