Tourism professionals, who left the pandemic process behind with a rapid exit in the second half of this year, see the future not in occupancy, but in income growth.
Despite the effects of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the tourism sector, which is preparing to close the year with 50 million tourists and 44 billion dollars in revenue, gave the message "Let's look at the price".
Zafer Alkaya, Member of the Board of the Mediterranean Touristic Hoteliers and Operators Association and General Manager of Cornelia Diamond, emphasized that Turkey is the country that provides the best service in the Mediterranean basin, but that it should focus on the right per capita income level.
Noting that Turkey competes with Spain here, but the income remains quite low, Alkaya continued: “We need to focus on income per capita. Occupancy will not get us where we want to go. Now, as Turkish tourism, what we deserve as Antalya tourism is to do marketing at the right prices. The right per capita income is the future of Turkish tourism. Not fullness. Our opponent is Spain. If we are going to play big, we have to play according to the rules of the Mediterranean bowl. While our competitor is pushing 1,500 dollars in per capita income, we need to exceed at least 1,000 dollars," he said.
COMPETITION WITH SPAIN
According to TUIK data, per capita income in the third quarter decreased by 17.5 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, from $1,036 to $855. Alkaya said that in 2022, the main market dilemma came out of the agenda last season, which was above the expectations, and that tourists from 65 countries entered Antalya and the number of tourists exceeded 13 million as of November.
Cost increases hit 100 percent
Zafer Alkaya stated that the costs are also pushing them hard and hotel prices will change between 25-50 percent in 2023. Stating that the facilities are having difficulties and price increases have come to an inevitable point, Alkaya expressed that they are faced with increases in operating costs at rates exceeding 100 percent from time to time.