President Güngör: Housing shortage in tourism leads to a lack of qualified personnel

Manavgat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MATSO) President Seydi Tahsin Güngör stated that the tourism sector is being negatively affected by the “lodging-housing problem,” leading to difficulties in finding qualified personnel and skilled labor. President Güngör said: “Due to the housing shortage and high rents, tourism employees who face shelter problems are not choosing this region. Lodging has become the priority for personnel working in the tourism sector. When applying for jobs, staff first ask if the tourism facility has lodging, and employees prefer hotels that provide it. Due to high rents and the inability to find rental homes, tourism businesses have begun to struggle to find staff. If the housing problem is not solved quickly, the issues regarding qualified personnel will increase, and there will be difficulties in finding employees in the coming years,” he said.

“Rising house rents make it difficult for businesses to find qualified personnel”

MATSO President Seydi Tahsin Güngör said, “According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a person’s first need is food, and the second is shelter. That is, housing. There is a very serious housing shortage in our region. The housing shortage we are experiencing affects the economic cycle in several ways.” Pointing out that the housing shortage experienced throughout the country is at a higher level in tourism regions, President Güngör said, “Our region has received migration at a speed far above its capacity due to uncontrolled migration and earthquakes, and it continues to do so. Intense migration has doubled or tripled the existing housing shortage in Manavgat and the region. In Manavgat, where 65-70 percent of the population works at the minimum wage level, the excessive rise in house rents is reflected in employees' salaries as raises, increasing production costs in all sectors from tourism to agriculture. If a quick solution to the housing problem is not produced, businesses will struggle to find staff for their million-dollar facilities in the coming period,” he said.

“The problem must be solved by preparing a comprehensive social housing project”

MATSO President Seydi Tahsin Güngör stated that the problem should be solved by the state preparing a comprehensive lodging and social housing project for the tourism sector. Emphasizing that the largest number of employees in the region are in the tourism sector, President Güngör said, “We must solve the lodging and housing problem of tourism sector employees in our region. The problem must be solved through a project to be carried out by the state.” Emphasizing that qualified personnel working in tourism facilities in the region have started to turn to facilities abroad, President Güngör said, “If the housing shortage cannot be resolved by urgently building social housing for our people who are in the workforce, reverse migration will begin, and the staff shortage, especially in tourism, will become an inextricable situation. A project to be carried out for tourism facilities will also reflect positively on the housing problem in the region and contribute to the resolution of the issue,” he said.

News Source: 12punto