The Turkish Chamber of Commerce and Industry Manavgat (Side) sent a letter to the Ministry of Tourism and Culture of the country with a request to limit the operation of hotels on an all-inclusive basis. According to traders and artisans of the resorts of Side and Alanya, in some parts of the country, hotels operating under this scheme are detrimental to small businesses. This was reported on the website of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia.

Complaints of entrepreneurs are supported by statistics. The tourist flow as a whole is increasing, but the average expenses of holidaymakers in the country are gradually decreasing. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, compared with the period from 2003 to 2018, the spending of foreigners fell by about 24%. At the same time, they no longer buy expensive carpets and jewelry, preferring clothes and shoes.

Craftsmen and shopkeepers claim that the cost of doing business is increasing, while income is constantly falling. Tourists travel less and less around the country and try not to splurge outside the hotel. According to entrepreneurs, a way out of the situation could be to revise the rules of the all-inclusive system. Traders from Alanya even offer to select certain areas in which its use should be prohibited.

Long discussion

An adviser to the head of Rostourism Dmitry Gorin in an interview with RT said that the debate on the abolition of the all-inclusive system in Turkey has been ongoing for the past five years, but hotels continue to work according to this scheme.

“This system is the most popular. It is popular with tourists, and more and more hotels work on it. The system will not be limited, because this is not a business initiative, but the initiative of Turkish customers, where at least 6.5 million tourists will rest this year. The Russian market is one of the main ones. And in this situation, I think the all-inclusive system will only develop, ”Gorin explained.

  • Pool at Topkapi Palace Hotel, Kundu, Aksu, Turkish Riviera, Province of Antalya, Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Asia
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  • © Martin Siepmann

In his opinion, the system is popular due to the fact that it "allows you to fix the budget", and therefore, plan expenses on vacation. This is a profitable way to attract tourists not only in Turkey, but also in many other countries, such as Tunisia, Egypt, Greece, Cyprus. According to Gorin, this system is quite actively developing in Russia, for example, in the Krasnodar Territory.

Representatives of the Turkish host companies, for their part, note that tourists often return to their country several times. Thus, many have already managed to explore all the sights and buy authentic souvenirs. This part of the rest is no longer interesting to them; they prefer to spend time at the hotel, by the pool or by the sea. In addition, hotel prices are also rising.

“There are tourists this season, and a lot, but they don’t spend money“ in the city ”and on excursions. They spent 90% of their vacation money on a hotel, ”the Association of Tour Operators quotes one of the representatives of the host company in Turkey.

Tough competition

If the Turkish authorities respond to the call of artisans, then the tourist flow to the country will begin to decline, which will affect the entire industry. Turkey will not be able to compete with other countries. This opinion is shared by the vice-president of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (PCT) Yuri Barzykin.

“I think that even though such calls periodically arise, the tough competitive environment in the Turkish market forces Turkish hoteliers and authorities to take this very path ... Otherwise, all these infrastructure facilities for providing will simply not be in demand,” he told RT.

The expert is confident that the Turkish authorities understand this, therefore they are unlikely to refuse to abandon the all-inclusive system in order to maintain small business.

In addition, according to Barzykin, large hotels do not represent any competition to merchants, because they usually do not sell souvenirs and handicrafts, but provide tourists with food and entertainment.

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“What is the violation of the rights of artisans? The all-inclusive system does not include souvenirs, ”he stressed.

Thus, according to the expert, the complaints of entrepreneurs will not change anything, hotels will continue to work according to an established scheme.

“I think they (the Turkish authorities. - RT ) will not benefit from this ... Therefore, the system is unlikely to change, because it provides an influx of tourists,” Barzykin concluded.

Recall, according to the Union of Travel Agencies of Russia, it is Alanya, Kemer and Side, which advocate the abolition of the all-inclusive system, are in greatest demand among Russians. In 2018, Turkey was visited by a record number of Russian citizens - 2.7 million people; in 2019, it is expected that the number of compatriots will increase by 25%. According to mid-June, more than half of the tickets bought by the Russians this summer are in Turkey. About 50% of tours are booked in five-star hotels for an average of nine nights.