According to Cumhuriyet, Turkey may soon run out of hotels for tourists. Moreover, the point is not in the growing tourist flow, but in the possible mass closure of hotels.
Earlier, the Turkish Ministry of Tourism said that the profits of the tourism sector are constantly growing, and by the end of this year the country expects to receive 60 million tourists. The local tourism industry objects to the authorities, citing figures for hotels’ debts to banks: over the past two years, this figure has grown from 8.5 to 10 billion dollars.
“70% of hotels have loyalty agreements with banks. And the validity of these agreements has expired or is coming to an end. If a lot of income was generated from tourism, why did the debt increase? 70–75% of hotels are mortgaged. Banks are telling owners to sell their hotels and pay their debts,” the newspaper writes.
As a result, according to experts, the Turkish hospitality industry may face dire consequences: the hotel business is on the verge of a crisis.