Turkey must “eliminate its image as a cheap holiday destination” and offer its tourism products “at the price they deserve.” This was stated by the President of the Turkish Hoteliers Federation (TÜRFED), Erkan Yagci, during a plenary session at the international tourism exhibition EMITT-2024 currently taking place in Istanbul. Turkish media quote his words.
According to the head of TÜRFED, hotel prices are rising not only in Turkey, but throughout the world, but the country’s resorts offer the best value for money. He predicted that 2024 will be a “testing year” for the Turkish tourism industry due to rapidly rising inflation.
“It’s important to think not so much about the number of tourists who will visit us on holiday, but about the income from tourism,” he said, apparently meaning to count on wealthier guests.
Another moderator of the forum, President of the Turkish Hoteliers Association (TÜROB) Müberra Eresin, noted that in the first quarter of this year, the number of tourist arrivals to Turkey from Europe declined. To meet the 2024 goals of 60 million guests and $60 billion in tourism revenue, the focus must be on working with countries further afield – China, India, Japan, and Brazil: “We expect these new markets to fill the gaps emerging in other markets.” The head of TÜROB spoke harshly about “competitors in the Middle East” who are trying to “poach Turkey’s tourism potential.” “We will not allow this,” she said, however, without specifying which specific countries that are taking away tourists from Turkey are being discussed.