Domestic tourists prefer going abroad for holidays: 'The outflow of foreign currency must be prevented'

Bendevi Palandöken, President of the Confederation of Turkish Tradesmen and Craftsmen (TESK), stated that domestic tourists have turned to traveling abroad as hotel prices became unaffordable during the nine-day holiday break.

"IT MUST BE PREVENTED"

Palandöken said, “While we expect significant contributions from the tourism sector in 2024 and our potential tourism revenue is increasing, the outflow of foreign currency caused by domestic tourists traveling abroad must be prevented. During the holiday break, 6.8 million people traveled by air. Due to the rise in foreign exchange rates and high inflation, hotel prices have increased recently. It is not possible for domestic tourists to travel within the country at these prices. Therefore, while we want to increase our foreign currency inflow and gain tourists, we must not lose our domestic tourists on the other hand. As you know, visa requirements have been lifted for 3-5 day holidays with many countries. While this is pleasing on one hand, it means that foreign currency is leaving our country and our tourism revenue is decreasing on the other. Our Ministry of Tourism needs to introduce incentive mechanisms and promotions for domestic tourists in domestic tourism to resolve this issue. The conditions for people to vacation in the country where they live must be made easier,” he said.

"HOLIDAYS ABROAD HAVE STARTED TO BECOME MORE AFFORDABLE"

Stating that a formula must be found to prevent domestic tourists from fleeing abroad at a time when our country needs foreign currency, Palandöken said, “With its geographical location, natural tourism resources, deep-rooted historical background, and vast cuisine, our country is practically a tourism paradise. In 2023, which is described as a record year for tourism in recent years, 56.7 million tourists chose Turkey. Tourism revenue reached 54.3 billion dollars. Our success in tourism is pleasing for the country's economy, but Turkey has a much higher potential in terms of tourism. We must increase the share of our country, which experiences four seasons at once and has unique geographical features, in tourism. At the same time, we must not lose our domestic tourists to foreign countries. The number of visitors leaving the country in 2023 increased by 11.1 percent compared to the previous year, reaching 57.7 million. This is because, despite the high exchange rate, holidays abroad have started to become more affordable for citizens than all-inclusive concept holidays within the country. When you add various campaigns and practices like visas at the door to this, the money of domestic tourists is escaping abroad,” he said.

WHAT SHOULD WE DO TO REVITALIZE TOURISM FURTHER?

Stating that formulas must be found to avoid losing our tourism revenue to foreign countries, Palandöken said, “First of all, we must keep tourism alive for 12 months of the year by saving it from seasonality. We must contribute to the country's economy by increasing the share our tradesmen and craftsmen receive from tourism revenue. We should benefit more from tourism areas such as health tourism, gastronomy tourism, and cultural tourism, which have recently become trends. We must determine new concepts to turn the increase in the number of tourists into an opportunity for promoting our country and our domestic products. Foreign tourists should not be limited to hotels; they should get to know the features and local products of the cities they visit and feel the hospitality of the Turkish people. The distribution of brochures containing information about our natural beauties, local products, and domestic production should be mandatory in crowded points such as airports, bus terminals, and hotels,” he said.