Cheap prices for wintering in Antalya offered to European tourists “do not reflect reality” and are a purely advertising offer bordering on fraud. This assessment was voiced in the Turkish media by the vice-president of the Mediterranean Association of Tourist Hoteliers and Operators (AKTOB), Kaan Cavaloglu. “Promotions that try to show European tourists over the age of 65 Turkey as a cheap holiday destination do not reflect reality and are a promotion,” the expert said. However, as the Turkish mass media assure, this is not a fraud, it is just a business, and to put it simply, it is a banal deception.
It is about an advertising campaign that recently “swept through”, “vacation for 21 euros per day”, which was actively promoted both in Turkey and in Europe. It was reported by such popular mass media as BBC, DW, and Independent. However, according to Turkish media, everything turned out to be an advertising campaign by tour operator FTI, Germany’s second-largest travel group through its Bigextra brand, with the support of Lidl, a discount chain in Germany, which launched the campaign as a promotional tool.
The bottom line is this: it was Lidl as part of the campaign that published a catalog of 5-star all-inclusive hotels, including hotels in Turkey, where the chain intends to cover 200 euros from the price of the tour through advertising, so for tourists, the price will be 21 euros per day. So in some ways these prices are real – the whole question is how many rooms are provided with such prices, how long and for what dates.
Experts recall similar actions of airlines when they announce a sale of tickets for 1 euro. Such tickets do exist, but only 3-5 passengers get them for the entire 200-300-seat plane.
This is also the case with “cheap” tours. 5-star hotels sold for 21 euros per day all-inclusive really exist – and “it’s not a scam, it’s just a business”, a kind of marketing method in a special campaign. Turkish media claim that tourists “stormed Lidl” when the action was announced. However, most heard that the “package is sold out” – and was offered tours at a higher price.