You can forget about last-minute tours to Turkey and cheap holidays – travel market experts warn that back in the spring, Turkey clearly left the list of budget destinations and since then the cost of holidays has only continued to grow. The reason is inflation in Turkey and the ruble exchange rate. True, Russian tourists still have hope for the “flexibility” of Turkish hotels, which some tour operators are talking about. In Turkey, however, they have already started talking about a “price reduction campaign” in Russia, as the reaction of Russian tourists in Turkey was frightened.
According to experts on the pages of Kommersant, the cost of vouchers for the summer period has increased by one and a half times compared to 2022. And you can not say that it was unexpected. Back in February-March, the price of tours to Turkey was higher by 20%, at the same time market participants warned that in the summer season prices would rise by at least another 20-30%. In numbers, it looks like this: “The budget “four” is sold for 70 thousand rubles. with a flight and an all-inclusive system – it's a little expensive. And in July, when the premium segment, which is so in demand in our market, is booked much in advance, two weeks in a mega-lux hotel will cost about 900 thousand rubles,” said Maya Lomidze, executive director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR). Last year, prices in 5 * for a week for two were 170 thousand rubles, this year – from 250 thousand rubles. up to 500 thousand rubles
“Russian tour operators are asking partners to leave prices at least at the level of 2022. Underloading will not benefit anyone. Some Turkish hotels are making advances, but there are not many of them,” Vladimir Kaganer, deputy general director of Tez Tour, told the publication. Kommersant's experts also noted that the tourism market has hope, negotiations are underway to reduce prices, though “individually”, but so far there are many tours and prices are high. “Now everyone is waiting in the hope that prices will fall. But when the time comes, tourists will start taking everything in a row, ”they add at the tourist market, emphasizing that“ there are no last-minute tours and there won’t be, the times of oversupply have passed irrevocably.
However, Turkey does not want to give up plans to receive 6 million Russian tourists. Recall, as Taras Kobishchanov, CEO of the Russian Express tour operator, said earlier, at such prices, Turkey may lose two million Russian tourists by the end of 2023. Last year, Türkiye received about 5.2 million Russian tourists. The Turks expect to take more, but the figure may be less. “This year they planned to accept six million. I have serious doubts that this figure will be reached. And also that Türkiye will reach the level of last year. Most likely, about four million will come to Turkey,” Mr. Kobishchanov said. The reason is prices. “Tours to Turkey before the pandemic cost about 150-200 thousand rubles, in 2022 – 300-350 thousand rubles, and this year – 400-500 thousand rubles,” the expert estimated. Read more at this link.
“Turkish” tour operators commented to “Kommersant” that there is an opportunity to negotiate. “Turkish hoteliers are very flexible in responding to changes in demand in any direction, both to increase and decrease. I can't say that all the hotels we work with, but most of them have reduced their prices for the May holidays. Compared to February and March – somewhere by 20-25%. It's too early to talk about the summer season. Let's see what the demand will be,” Anna Podgornaya, CEO of Pegas Touristik, commented to Kommersant.
At the same time, the Turkish tourist media have already started talking about a targeted campaign “to reduce prices in Russia”, claiming that prices in Turkey are too high and almost blackmail. They emphasize that, firstly, it is difficult for hotels to reduce prices due to rising costs in Turkey, and secondly, most hotels in Turkey are rented out and lease agreements are concluded for one year. They also expect that the “failure” in the Russian market can be filled by European tourists, primarily from Germany and the UK. True, other experts note that low prices are “the main competitive weapon” – having lost it, Turkey will become uninteresting not only to Russian, but also to European tourists, on whom the local tourist business is counting heavily. “Turkey, which for many years has been the most competitive country for Mediterranean dishes in terms of price-quality ratio, has recently begun to lose this feature. The reason, of course, is the state of the country's economy,” Turizm Guncel reports. They also add that big increases in costs, from energy to food, from natural gas to staff costs, have inevitably taken their toll on hotel prices, with costs rising by more than a quarter before being forced to raise prices. As a result, “hotel prices in Turkey have become difficult not only for Russian, but also for European guests, not to mention local tourists.” Read the details at this link.
Meanwhile, Turkey's competitors are “on the alert”. According to Kommersant, Russian tourists are already looking at other resorts – Egypt, Thailand, the Maldives. The United Arab Emirates, for example, are already selling tours for the summer – there it is the middle season – with a 40% discount. And a week in a luxury hotel in the Emirates, for example, is 300,000 rubles cheaper than in Turkey.
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