CGT 9-10 23/2/10 16:14 Page 38
knowledge cyprus, greece & turkey
ttglive.com
Pricing report
Is Turkey on
its last legs?
Recent stories suggest Turkey is no longer a bargain
destination due to rising inflation, while unprecedented
demand in 2010 will adversely affect accommodation
quality. Howard Carr investigates
T
ourism bosses have rejected claims seen in Germany, from which Turkey received
that the Turkish holiday boom 4.5 million visitors last year.” Anatolian Sky offers Akyaka resort on the Gulf of Gokova
could backfire on the country. Onal claimed that the Post Office prices
Doubts about Turkey’s reputation were based on “a small sample” of products “There is enough good-quality accommo-
as a cheap destination have been raised by a in Marmaris. dation to satisfy demand but there is some
Post Office survey, which has ranked the He stressed: “It does not represent prices in poor accommodation, particularly in the
country as the most expensive short-haul general across the country as a whole.” mass-market areas such as Marmaris and
holiday hotspot for 2010 (see opposite). He also dismissed fears about accommoda- Icmeler,” he said.
The annual Holiday Money Report claims vis- tion standards. “They are offering prices such as £3 per
itors to Turkey face a 44% hike in the price of “Turkey has sufficient quality capacity to person per night, including breakfast. Some
meals, drinks and other holiday items this deal with an increase in British tourists pre- companies, particularly bed banks, are con-
year – even allowing for a weaker lira. dicted for 2010 and beyond,” he explained. tracting these kind of places because they
And the country’s unprecedented popularity But Anatolian Sky Holidays managing are only concerned with price, not quality.”
has also led to fears that companies jumping director Akin Koc fears the biggest threat to
Youtravel.com claims it has ignored the
on the Turkey bandwagon could offer poor- Turkey’s reputation comes from bed banks, clamour for cheap hotels by concentrating
quality accommodation to keep prices low. which he claims are piling on capacity with mainly on the upper end of the market.
Turkey attracted a record 2.4 million visitors little regard for quality. “We have always veered towards the four
from the UK last year, 12% up on 2008. and five-star market. This is certainly the
Irfan Onal, UK director of the Turkish case in Turkey,” said national sales manager
Culture and Tourism Office, is confident the Liz Garfield.
trend will continue this summer despite the Prestige Holidays, which has expanded its
warnings about prices and accommodation. programme for its second year in Turkey,
ys
“Turkey has achieved great successes in the stresses the destination has more to offer
British market in the past two years,” he said. than just “cheap, all-inclusive holidays”.
“It is our aim to continue this growth and Olympic Holida “There are some stunning five-star and
boost British visitor numbers to such levels Olympic Holidays offers the Marmara Antalya Hotel boutique hotels that are reasonably priced,”
N
EW
FANTASTIC EARLY
FOR 2010
NORTH 1
CYPRUS BOOKING SAVINGS
HIGH QUALITY AND GREATVALUE
AT SELECTED HOTELS
08445 76 80 86
38 26.02.2010
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