Panic has begun among business owners in Turkey who rely on vacationers: tourists have fled to resorts in a neighboring country. We are talking about Greece. According to the Express, Kivanc Meric, head of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, believes Turkey has lost its “price advantage.”
According to his estimates, about 150,000 Turks will come to the Greek island of Samos alone this year, while in 2023 there were about 40,000. As a result, Turkey is experiencing a sharp decline in tourism, affecting all industries “tied” to it. For example, restaurants remain half-empty.
Kaplan Ilhan, 57, a chef at a fish restaurant in the Turkish resort town of Kusadasi, said that business has fallen by about 25% compared to last season. “The cost of living is a factor, but rumors on social media that Greece is cheaper also play a big role,” he says.
Another Turkish entrepreneur, Barış Tansever, founder of the upscale restaurant Sunset Grill & Bar in Istanbul, says business has fallen by about a quarter compared to last year. However, he adds that with interest rates at 50% and inflation above 70%, “people are in shock.”
The restaurateurs themselves are not without sin. “There is a huge difference between the quality of service and product and prices here and there. Restaurants here have used inflation as an excuse to raise prices,” said Murat Yavuz, a retired Turkish banker who regularly visits Greece.