Die Türkei gerät in Panik, als britische Urlauber das Land verlassen und in das budgetfreundliche Griechenland wechseln

Turkey, long known as a budget-friendly holiday destination, is now seeing a significant drop in tourism due to rising costs, leaving hotels vacant as tourists opt for Greece instead.

A travel expert told Express that it’s “unsurprising” that cost-conscious travellers are struggling with the increased prices and are “seeking a better deal.

Another has warned that Turkey will have a tough time in the coming years if it doesn’t restore its reputation as a “budget” destination.

Not only are foreign tourists deterred by the escalating prices, but Turkish holidaymakers are also shunning staycations. From April 1, Greece began issuing visas on arrival for Turkish visitors, allowing them to visit 10 Greek islands with an express visa for up to seven days.

In the first 10 days of April alone, the islands of Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Kos and Rhodes welcomed 20,690 Turkish tourists, many of whom would likely have holidayed in their home country in previous years.

Meanwhile, numerous hotel rooms in Turkish resorts remain unoccupied. Hamit Kuk, a leading advisor for the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, previously told Express in August that some of the cheaper hotels in popular holiday destinations were only half-full, even during peak season, reports the Express.

Kuk divulged the latest figures, stating: “The average room occupancy rate in hotels in Bodrum, Marmaris, Fethiye and Antalya is currently around 80 percent,” and noted that contrary to some claims, there are no empty hotels or resorts. He lamented that previously, room occupancy rates hit 100 percent, but this has since dropped.

He went on to say that different categories of establishments would be winding down at separate times: “[I expect] two and three-star hotels to close in October, four-star hotels to close in mid-October and five-star hotels to remain open until the end of October.”

Mustafa Demir, Chairman of the TURSAB Regional Representation Board had previously informed Schengen. News about the cost pressures tourism businesses are under: “Since fixed costs, such as electricity, personnel and hotel rents are fixed, while other food, beverage and cleaning costs are variable, our hotelier colleagues made their calculations and made discounts so that at least the rooms would not remain empty, they could pay the staff and not lay them off.”

Current trends are also reflected by travel operators like easyJet and TUI who are displaying deals on their websites for instance, easyJet offers price reductions ranging from £100 to £200 which cover flights, accommodation and meals.

Concern is echoed among travel experts. Sarah Donaldson, Senior Travel Claims Analyst at Fast Cover Travel Insurance, outlined the primary issues, commenting to Express that: “We understand that hyperinflation remains the primary cause of Turkey’s struggling tourism sector, as even foreigners find it hard to justify the cost of accommodation and dining.”

“With nearby countries like Greece generally offering more affordable alternatives, it’s unsurprising that price-conscious travellers are seeking a better deal.”

Florian Wupperfeld, a world-leading social sustainability and placemaking expert and CEO of LCD Ventures, a UK-based destination innovation company, also expressed his concerns about the potential long-term implications of Turkey’s current situation.

He stated: “Turkey is a budget destination. The middle segment of people [that] feel the pinch with inflation are drying out faster than the luxury. The people with money still have money.”

Wupperfeld noted that Turkey excels in hard power tourism, which involves using incentives like work visas to attract visitors, as seen in Russia. However, it struggles with soft power tourism, a strategy that employs symbolic and effective means to influence global audiences.

According to Wupperfeld, tourism in Turkey “has become a hard power industry”. He warned that Turkey will face challenges in the future due to its focus on budget tourism.

On a more positive note, Ms Donaldson pointed out that there are signs of hope for Turkey’s tourism industry, citing the Turkish government’s report that inflation had dropped to below 52 percent in August, down from a peak of 75 percent in May, as reported by Reuters. “With the government expecting inflation to fall below 42 percent by the end of the year, travellers hoping to visit the region soon could potentially encounter more reasonable prices once interest rates begin to drop.”

“We understand that some Turkish officials also suggested that major sporting events held in Europe over the summer have contributed to a downturn in tourism. With the European Championship in Germany and the Paris Olympic Games attracting millions of visitors, many travellers ordinarily bound for Turkey might have had other plans in 2024.”

“We’ll have to wait and see how the next few months play out, but the Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy suggested tourism will slowly grow throughout September before a rapid increase as the economy improves. According to Ersoy, with just a 6 percent increase in tourism, Turkey can achieve its goal of 60 million annual visitors.”

Currently, I am avoiding spending time and money in a musl1m country.

People shouldn’t go visiting countries ran by dictators.

I have not read the article yet but I’m already fairly certain that when I do, the Turkish reaction will be far from “panic”.

It is expensive as hell even when you use USD to compare. 

Tourists are tourissts but is is becoming unbearable for the citizens. 

Greece? Budget friendly? Yeah, right. I just came back from two-week trip to Rhodes, everything is just as pricey and everyone wants to fleece you for every dime you have just like everywhere else.

Are these German Car Manufacturers in the room with us now UK?

Finally some good fucking news

As long as Erdogan is in charge I refuse to go to Turkey.

Oh cmon Turkiye, up your game please and keep them.

If Greece opened up hair clinics, they’d take back Constantinople

I’m pretty sure every country wants to be a destination for tourists with money, not tourists with a tight budget.

I have access to Croatian media and whenever they talk about tourism as one of the most important sectors in their economy, they say how the future growth needs to be generated not by an increase in the number of visits, but in increase in money those tourists spend.

The fact that Turkey became expensive is not something that will cause panic in their country lol. Why would they panic because of the fact that the supply and demand brought them to the point where they can charge a lot?

I can only wish services I provide will become so sought after and expensive that many clients can’t afford them.

Good.

I was in Turkey in 2012 and in 2022. The quality of service has dropped a lot and prices have increased significantly (in Euros). Although Greece did not seem cheaper to me, I found the quality of service, food, and friendliness of the staff to be higher. In Turkey they try to cheat the tourist at every step.

That’s surprising, Greece is such a bad tourist destination in comparison, but yeah if the price is the reason, it’s the only reason I understand.

was a good holiday destination for a cheap getaway, but now they’re charging paris/london prices for mediocrity.

My last visit to Turkey was 8 years ago, and I did enjoy my stay. But I am probably not coming back any time soon.
It is not just one major thing. It is all the small things that has accumulated over the years of Erdogan.
The NATO debacle with Sweden and Finland, and the lurking threat with doing the same for Ukraine.
The two faced approach to Ukraine and Russia. Turkey has done very little for Ukraine even though they are neighbors.
The stupid idea of the Russian S-400 and trying to blame it on USA and the complete inability to aknowledge that you were wrong (again).
The constant threat of releasing masses of your fellow muslim refugees on europe rather than work it out with your arab neighbors.
The tonnes of Turks in Europe, who just don’t know how to behave themselves. It all just adds up.