Trabzon has become too expensive... Arab tourists are leaving Trabzon

As Trabzon became one of the most visited cities in Turkey by foreigners of Arab origin, the highest number of international flights to Trabzon Airport came from Gulf countries.

While a portion of these Arab tourists obtained citizenship through purchasing property, a significant number preferred to visit the Black Sea through weekly and monthly visits. The number of visitors, which had been increasing every year, has reversed in recent days. As Arab tourists have begun to leave Trabzon rapidly, causing pessimism among local tradespeople, Volkan Kantarcı, the Eastern Black Sea Regional President of TÜRSAB, explained the reasons for this situation.

Stating that the largest portion of the losses is seen in Uzungöl, which has become a tourist center, Kantarcı emphasized that there is also a striking drop in the number of foreign visitors across Trabzon as a whole.

HIGH INFLATION HAS ALSO HIT ARABS

According to the report by Ekonomim, Volkan Kantarcı, the Eastern Black Sea Regional President of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB), stated that rising prices following high inflation have caused Arabs to change their travel preferences.

Stating that price increases are driving tourists away, Kantarcı used the following expressions:

“There were individual, similar complaints this year, but it was not like last year. Last year, especially the Trabzon Chamber of Tradesmen and Craftsmen (TESOB) had very serious intensive inspections at the beginning and end of the season, and the municipalities also had some practices. Tradespeople should not just complain about other tradespeople; they need to immediately report every wrong they see to the relevant authorities so that they and the city do not suffer losses in the future.”

'THERE IS A SHIFT TO OTHER COUNTRIES'

“There is a shift to other countries. With a presidential decree, visas were lifted for 6 Middle Eastern countries last winter. 15 days after we lifted the visa, the UK lifted it for 4 Middle Eastern countries. It didn't even take a month, Bosnia and Herzegovina lifted it. Today, Russia does not apply visas to many countries. Direct flights to Sochi have even started. There are departures to Azerbaijan, Baku; shifts can happen, this is normal. You can visit a region once or twice with your family. Families in the Middle East come three, four, five times; some are making investments.

There are those who do business and form partnerships. However, after a certain time, if there is an expensiveness according to their own calculations, or if they have experienced some problems in the country they visited, it is normal for them to be able to go to another country, even if only for a few years.”

'OCCUPANCY COULD NOT EXCEED 60 PERCENT'

“What is important is that we make serious evaluations with accurate findings, realistic figures, and statistics, and take the right actions to prevent losses in the coming years and to regain existing losses.

There is also a significant decrease in Uzungöl. Uzungöl is a very important destination for Middle Eastern tourists. Uzungöl is the most prominent among all the brand values of the Eastern Black Sea. There are serious losses in Uzungöl. This is also the case specifically in Trabzon. This year, even during peak times, the averages of five-star and four-star hotels could not exceed 60 percent. The increasing number of accommodation facilities is also important. It should have reached at least 70 percent. In previous years, the highest occupancy rate was between July 20 and August 20.”

News Source: 12punto