Prices for holidays in Turkey could be set to tumble as hotels and resorts seek to avoid a repeat of the struggles of 2024. Last year, low occupancy rates in destinations beloved by Brits, such as Bodrum, Marmaris, Fethiye and Antalya, plummeted as domestic tourists travelled to nearby Greece to avoid spiraling inflation in their homeland.
As a result, some hotels closed earlier than usual to avoid costly operating expenses. According to Hamit Kuk, a leading advisor for the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, price rises in Turkey could cause more problems this year.
“High inflation and excessive price increases in Turkey have left the tourism sector in a very difficult situation,” he told the Express.
“Due to the poorly managed economy in Turkey, not only citizens but also many service sectors have been affected. The tourism sector is one of them. No business can control cost increases anymore.
“For this reason, the Turkish tourism sector has begun to lose its ability to compete in both the European market and other markets under suitable conditions and with good prices.
“The economy in Turkey needs to be fixed as soon as possible.
“Otherwise we will experience some losses in markets where we are strong such as the tourism sector.”
In 2024, Greece took advantage of Turkey’s woes by offering citizens of their Mediterranean neighbour special visas, a move that stole away many domestic tourists.
Kuk is not expecting a repeat of this pattern, although he feels some Turkish resorts will need to analyse their business to ensure they remain competitive.
“Hotels and service quality in Turkey are better than Greece,” he said.
“However, some facilities may not achieve the occupancy they are targeting this summer. They may have to reconsider their prices to see them achieve their goals.”
Kuk said three African countries’ bargain-basement pricing was pushing Turkish resorts towards slashing their fees and that there could be some tough decisions ahead.
“Currently, tourism countries such as Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt are putting a lot of pressure on us with cheap packages,” he added.
“Ultimately, if things continue like this, some tourism professionals in Türkiye will have to make a choice this year; Do they want a facility that is not profitable at the end of the year but full or a facility that does not compromise on profit margins with less occupancy.”
However, Kuk played down any suggestion that there would be any more closures.
“A large portion of resort hotels operate seasonally,” he said.
“They are open in the summer months of April to November but remain closed from December to the end of March
“So compared to last year there is not much change in the statistics of closed facilities.”
The Express asked Kuk about reports that hundreds of hotels across the country were reported to have been forced to close after a series of devastating fires at ski resorts.
But Kuk claimed that there were unlikely to be more closures or that this would hit the sector too hard.
“The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has issued a new law and made it mandatory for all accommodation facilities to obtain a certificate from the Ministry of Tourism,” he said.
“All of the facilities that were reported as being closed did so due to the law because they did not apply to the Ministry of Tourism and obtain an operating certificate within the legal period.
“So now the process has become a little more complicated for these hotels.
“However, this process is not at a level that will negatively affect Turkish tourism.”
Are you staying at a Turkish hotel that is EMPTY compared to last year? Get in touch zak.garnerpurkis@reachplc.com