How do we sabotage tourism?

For two days, Turkey has been talking about a few young men with the same haircut who were trying to entertain tourists in Marmaris by dancing half-naked. It has reached such a point that even the missile barrage between Israel and Iran has been pushed to the background.

The footage of these young men, which was posted on social media and allegedly showed them trying to entertain older female tourists, has suddenly become the country's most important issue.

Some likened these strange dances to harassment and slammed the young men; others engaged in sociological analyses. There were those who said that low-quality tourists from Europe, who live on social benefits, enjoy such entertainment, and those who demanded that the people forcing these young men to do this be punished...

It is hard to believe in the existence of someone as low-quality as to enjoy these bizarre movements, let alone as a tourist, even as a human being. Because what is being done is neither a dance nor an erotic show, as some have claimed. But there is a serious reality at hand: Tourism, which we call the smokeless industry, is visibly fading away!

Whether these shows will turn us into a "cheap entertainment" country like Thailand is unknown. But this much is known: Many countries in Europe are warning their citizens not to go to Turkey. Travelers, influencers, and travel bloggers; they all recommend Spain or Greece instead of Turkey on their social media accounts.

Of course, the ones responsible for this collapse are not the young men performing strange movements for a few pennies.

For example, the British Foreign Office has issued an updated travel advisory for its citizens traveling to Turkey. It says:

“Be careful when getting into taxis. Note the license plate, ensure the driver does not deviate from the route.”

“Be vigilant against counterfeit alcohol. Do not buy alcohol outside of large supermarkets; drinks outside of hotels carry a risk of death.”

“Do not walk around without identification, stay away from social unrest.”

In other words, it clearly says: "If you go to Turkey, your life and property safety are at risk."

Isn't it painful?

I took a look... We have never warned our citizens who will travel to England, Italy, or Spain. Are you saying, “But we can't even get a visa anyway, what does it matter if we are warned?” That is a separate tragedy! In fact, it is a topic for another article.

We mentioned the influencers... They are also describing their experiences in Turkey in vivid detail(!):

Restaurants where they are forcibly pulled in from the door...

Exorbitant prices...

Low-quality service...

Attempts at fraud...

Our Minister of Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, might not know about these. After all, these things might not be happening in the luxury hotels he owns. He might also be unaware of what the travel companies he owns are selling. After all, the intermediary agency does not concern him. But someone needs to tell him what is going on in the coastal strips, in the back streets, in that “tourism paradise”!

If urgent measures are not taken, this resource will also slip through our fingers. The European press is writing about the exorbitant prices at airports in Turkey. They are carrying what happens to tourists to their headlines. Governments are issuing official warnings. Social media influencers are calling out, “Don't get ripped off or harassed in Turkey; go to other countries.”

While we boast about being a tourism country, we are becoming a location that tourists do not even want to hear the name of.

If urgent measures are not taken, this fertile resource will also dry up. And all we will have left are the strange dances performed for tourists.