Another peak of inflation was recorded in Turkey in October – although experts are still waiting for official inflation data for October to be provided by the Turkish statistical institute TurkStat, everyone in the country is confident that in October the consumer price index will exceed 20%. And in September, inflation rose to 19.58 percent, exceeding the political rate and reaching the highest level since March 2019. And everything is more expensive, including everything necessary for the normal operation of hotels and tourist services. Thus, it is expected that the cost of holidays in Turkey next year will inevitably increase.
For tourists, this means higher prices for everything. Including the rise in food and energy prices, which is included in the list of “five triggers” for inflation – and which hotels will have to somehow compensate, or price, or quality of service and staff.
The five triggers for inflation are, in fact, the following:
- High food prices
- Rising energy prices
- Rising tobacco prices
- VAT discounts on some goods and services that expire at the end of September
- Depreciation of the Turkish lira
According to Turkish media, the results of a survey quoted by the newspaper Dünya from Reuters showed that the consumer price index rose to 20.4%, which is the peak in about 3 years. The annual inflation forecast for October is from 19.3 to 21.1%. For tourists, this means, firstly, the risk of high prices, and secondly, a variety of attempts by hotels to save on tourists, at best by cutting the range and excluding from the menu expensive items, at worst – outright counterfeiting.