Editor's note: Straddling the Eurasian continent, Turkey has become a world-famous tourist destination with its unique geographical location, rich historical sites, and diverse and integrated cultural customs. In recent years, against the backdrop of inflation and the depreciation of the lira, tourists have found that traveling to Turkey is becoming more and more expensive. So, what is the impact of persistent inflation on Turkey's tourism industry? Will Turkey, with its soaring prices, push tourists further and further? The Global Times reporter recently walked into Turkey to feel the challenges brought by inflation to Turkey's tourism industry.
Due to the depreciation of the lira, many attractions in Turkey are priced in euros.
Tourists call out "ticket assassins"
Tickets have become a big expense for visitors to Turkey. Many netizens jokingly called Turkey attractions "ticket assassins". Taking the well-known attractions in Istanbul as an example, Hagia Sophia (25 euros, 50 euros including museums), Basilica Cistern (900 lira, 100 lira is about 20.7 yuan), Topkapi Palace (1700 lira), Dolmabahce Palace (1200 lira), Galata Tower (30 euros), an ordinary adult foreign tourist (Turkey attractions are generally priced differently for domestic and foreign tourists) to visit these 5 attractions, it costs more than 1200 yuan.
Some tourists posted on social media platforms that the pace of updating the guide has not kept up with the increase in tickets in Turkey. When the reporter visited Dolmabahce Palace on October 4, the price of its foreign ordinary adult ticket was 1,200 lira, and a guide posted by netizens in August this year showed that the ticket at that time was 1,050 lira, and in April 2023, the ticket was 450 lira. Jingjing, who visited Turkey in 2015, said that at that time, tickets for various attractions were only thirty or forty lira (one lira was about two yuan at that time).
On the 18th, the Turkey lira fell to 34.2938 lira per dollar, while at the beginning of the year, it was 29.528 lira per dollar. In recent years, the Turkey lira has continued to depreciate. The lira fell by about 44% against the US dollar in 2021, about 30% in 2022 and nearly 50% in 2023.
Against the backdrop of the dwindling lira, many attractions and experiences in Turkey are priced in euros, such as Cappadocia's hot air balloon company, which quotes and charges in euros (some also accept US dollars). Hagia Sophia, Galata, Ephesus, Pamukkale and other attractions are priced in euros, but the ticket offices of these attractions are clearly marked with "no euros, only Turkey lira". Visitors cannot buy tickets in cash in euros, and even if they use a credit card, they are billed in lira. As a result, many foreign tourists who use their credit cards have difficulty figuring out exactly how many lira they will have to pay for tickets in a short period of time.
This pricing method also gives attractions more room to "generate revenue". In Pamukkale, the ticket staff gave the reporter a box of headphones and said that they could use it to listen to the guided tour. When the reporter checked his credit card payment information and converted it, he found that the payment was nearly 40 euros, while the price of a Pamukkale ticket was 30 euros. After the reporter questioned it, the staff said that it was a fixed package. It is understood that this type of tying also exists in attractions such as Galata Tower.
In fact, the sharp increase in tickets to attractions in Turkey attracted the attention of foreign media when the Hagia Sophia (now converted into a mosque) began to charge foreign tourists at the beginning of this year, and some media considered it unfair to treat domestic and foreign tourists differently. It's not just a matter of pricing differentiations, it's that foreign tourists have since been able to visit the second floor, never setting foot on the first floor of this magnificent building that bears witness to the country's many history. Some netizens said that attractions like Hagia Sophia and Basilica Cistern, which take less than half an hour to visit, are unreasonable to charge nearly 200 yuan. Apparently, the staff of Hagia Sophia thought that half an hour was also slightly redundant, and when the reporter bought the ticket at the ticket window, the staff told the reporter that the ticket was 50 euros (including the price of the museum), and the reporter said that he only needed to visit the mosque, and the staff repeated it twice, "Are you sure?" The mosque only takes 10 minutes to complete. "After the reporter repeatedly insisted that he did not need to visit the museum, he was given a 25-euro ticket.
National tourists run to Greece
The increase in ticket prices is just a microcosm, and due to inflation and other factors, Turkey's overall tourism consumption has increased significantly.
On the 7th, in preparation for the concert, the Ephesus Theater closed its doors in advance.
"The previous price no longer exists in Turkey." Aidantaetiktok, a blogger from the United Kingdom, said in his TikTok video, "Everything is expensive. It's not just this blogger who feels the change. The United Kingdom Express reported a few days ago that "some videos of tourists claiming that Turkey has become super quiet have appeared on TikTok." Some tourists say Turkey will be empty in 'a few years' because prices in popular destinations have risen a lot. ”
The blogger who goes by the account slimwadie5 compares the price difference between last year and this year: the price of a one-hour cruise has risen from £20 to £120; Burger King's burger went from £5 to £12 – "it's all London prices". He also said his family had said they would not come to Turkey for holidays in the future.
Behind the rise in tourist consumer prices is Turkey's high inflation rate. Euronews reported that inflation in Turkey soared to 75.4% in May. According to United States magazine Fortune, prices of hotels and restaurants in Turkey rose by an average of 91% year-on-year in June. According to Germany data firm Statista, Turkey's industrial producer price index (PPI) has been rising, directly leading to higher prices for consumer goods and services in the country. Although overall inflation is starting to slow down, food prices have risen steadily, rising by 68.1% in June compared to the same month last year.
On top of that, high inflation has led to a significant increase in labor costs, with Satchioglu, chairman of the board of directors of the Association of Professional Hotel Managers, saying that staff costs have increased by 45% in euro terms.
The United Kingdom's Economist reported that the previous reckless interest rate cut policy had caused a rising inflation spiral in Turkey. At present, the central bank of Turkey is trying to respond with tightening policies such as raising interest rates. But the Financial Times said that in the second quarter of this year, Turkey's economic growth slowed to its lowest level since the outbreak of the pandemic, and the benchmark interest rate of 50% put huge pressure on businesses and households.
Various price increases due to inflation have hit Turkey's international and domestic tourism market hard. According to Travel and Tour World, Marmaris, Turkey, once an affordable holiday destination, has been criticized for its high prices and high-pressure marketing tactics, and the number of tourists has dropped significantly. Bodrum, another tourist destination, also saw its domestic tourism market shrink by 20% compared to last year. And Antalya, on the Eastern Mediterranean coast, saw a drop of 5 to 10 percent in bookings. Tourists have expressed concern about the increase in food and beverage prices at popular tourist attractions such as Marmaris, as well as the price of tickets.
Affected by rising prices, Turkey's own tourists have gone to Greece and other surrounding areas for vacation. Merici, chairman of the Izmir Regional Representative Committee of the Association of Turkey Travel Agencies, said that the number of local tourists to Samos in Greece is expected to rise from 35,000 to 40,000 last year to 100,000 to 150,000 this year. Part of Greece's appeal to Turkey tourists comes from the new visa program announced in April this year. Turkey passport holders can travel to 10 islands in Greece for stays of up to one week and enter the Schengen Area without application.
Some Turkey tourism industry insiders are expressing concerns about Turkey's reduced attractiveness to international tourists. Ramazan · Bingel, president of the Turkey Restaurant and Tourism Association, said that some foreign tourists are looking for other destinations and that "Turkey has become an expensive country with a large number of tourists staying away from us". The Turkey Restaurant and Tourism Association is trying to get its 30,000 businesses to reduce the price of their services by 10%. However, due to high inflation and low profit margins, it can be difficult for many operators to comply.
The economic considerations behind the price increase
According to Statista, Turkey's tourism industry generated $131.4 billion in revenue directly or indirectly in 2023. The contribution of tourism to GDP is expected to be $135.5 billion in 2024. Statista expects tourism to account for 12.65% of Turkey's GDP in 2028. In order to boost tourism revenue, Turkey will implement a visa-free policy for tourists from 116 countries and territories starting in August 2024. However, at present, Chinese mainland tourists to Turkey need to apply for an electronic visa.
Wang Xiaoyu, an associate researcher at the Center for Middle East Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on the 18th that under the pressure of inflation and lira depreciation, Turkey has implemented visa-free and price increase policies, aiming to attract tourists to increase foreign exchange earnings, activate the tourism market, ease financial pressure, expand employment, and promote economic diversification.
As for the impact on the Chinese market, the head of a large outbound travel agency in Beijing told the Global Times that about 100 tourists participated in their trip to Turkey during this year's "Eleventh", about one-third of the pre-epidemic level. The overall product price has risen, from less than 20,000 yuan before the epidemic to about 24,000 yuan now.
According to data provided to the Global Times by an online travel platform, the price of group tours in Turkey has increased by 10%-20% compared with the pre-pandemic period, mainly due to the increase in the price of ground transportation (local accommodation, car and labor).
However, Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, mentioned in the "Tourism China, Youth Flying - 2024 National Day Holiday Tourism Market Special Report" that "compared with the era of inbound tourism and the initial stage of mass tourism development, the proportion of traditional group tours has been negligible." At a time when more and more Chinese tourists are choosing to travel independently, reporters have hardly encountered Chinese tourist groups in Turkey during the "Eleventh Day" period.
Xiao Chen, a free travel tourist that the reporter met during the trip, said that she and her friends only selectively entered one or two paid attractions, "It would be good to feel the style across Asia and Europe, and the price of the attractions is a bit outrageous, more expensive than similar attractions in Europe." You see, the entrance fee to the famous Pompeii in Italy is only 18 euros, and Ephesus is 40 euros. ”
But Ephesus seems to have a knack for increasing revenue. On the evening of the 7th, at dusk, tables were set up in front of the "council hall" near the south gate of the ancient city, and the waiters of the high-end restaurant were busy shuttling among the relics of thousands of years. At the same time, deafening modern music came from the Grand Theater at the north gate of the ancient city, and the staff was busy adjusting various equipment. At around 6 p.m., the staff closed the entrance to the theater and told visitors who wanted to come in that "the doors are closed." A member of a Western European tour group that had just come in could only look at the landmark of the ancient city from a distance, and then leave with regret in the footsteps of the guide, half an hour before the closing time provided by the ticket office staff.
Source: Global Times