Turkish entrepreneurs are once again calling on the authorities to ban the all-inclusive system. The main justification is that the Turkish business makes almost no money from a tourist who vacations under this system since the expenses of tourists outside their hotel have dropped to a minimum. As a result, other branches of tourism, such as medical tourism, now bring the Turkish budget and local businesses incomparably more money than the “classic” all-inclusive beach tourist.
Thus, the president of the Confederation of Turkish Tradesmen and Artisans (TESK) Bendevi Palandeken spoke in the Turkish press. He stated that the all-inclusive system in Turkey’s tourism should be abandoned to increase tourism revenues in Turkey.
He emphasized that compared to the classic all-inclusive “beach” tourism, other industries such as health care, culture, and gastronomy bring significantly higher foreign currency income.
“The decrease in the average per capita expenditure of foreign tourists in dollar terms has reached a maximum. Although the number of tourists is increasing, a tourist who spent $900 in Turkey a few years ago now spends less than $2 outside the hotel on average. The most important reason for this decrease in per capita spending is that tourists stay in hotels do not travel, and do not spend money,” he said.
He also mentioned the traditional argument that the “all-inclusive” system is the main obstacle to the development of gastronomic tourism. “We need tourists who want to experience not only the historical and natural beauty of the countries they are going to but also the taste. Each region has its taste in Turkish cuisine,” said the Turkish businessman.
Another profitable tourism, as stated by Mr. Palandoken, is medical tourism. Last year, 876 thousand 521 people came to the country for health tourism, and 1.6 million dollars were received from these visits.