Turkish hotels are at risk of permanently losing Russian tourists due to their policy of hiring Russian-speaking staff: in private conversations, Russian tourists say they are afraid to go to hotels where Ukrainians work. Namely, they often work in the most “unsafe” positions, for example, in children's mini-clubs, as well as various animators and waiters. Such a statement, which was voiced in his blog by Yilger Demirtas, director of sales and marketing of the Clup Nena hotel in the resort of Side in Antalya, was presented by the tourism media. Moreover, the expert is sure that this problem is for a long time.
Although Turkey is the first choice for Russians, we feel that they are hesitant to come to Turkey. We hear from conversations with our regular guests who say that they do not want to come to hotels where Ukrainians work. Our regular customers say that the animation teams are mostly Ukrainians, and they, unfortunately, do not want to send their children to mini-clubs, and some do not want to come to hotels at all,” he said.
In addition, according to a Turkish expert, Russian tourists broadcast “news that Turkey is not safe and that hotels do not accept Russian clients” that they receive from social networks and other sources that “are not officially broadcast on Russian channels.” “It is believed that this is speculation and manipulation on the part of Ukraine. According to our Russian client, this is done to prevent Russians from going to Turkey.”
The words of Russian clients, according to his information, are confirmed by some guides. They state that “unpleasant conversations and events are taking place between Ukrainians living in some hotels in Alanya and Russians who are on vacation.” “Unfortunately, hotels and agencies now have to solve this problem between Ukraine and Russia. Russians and Ukrainians do not work in agencies. Our guides are mainly Azerbaijanis, Uzbeks, Kyrgyz and Kazakhs. Hotels should also apply the same conditions,” he says. True, he adds that, on average, Russians cause fewer problems, unlike Ukrainian tourists, who, even before the events of February 2022, “as a result of the policy pursued in Ukraine by the United States, especially after Russian, speak Ukrainian. “Do we, as tourism professionals, need to learn and speak a new language? To speak Ukrainian in Turkish tourism, you need at least ten years, no matter how you look at it. We were able to get used to the Russian language only at the age of thirty,” the expert added.
At the same time, he is sure that the problem will only worsen “when everything is over and Russian and Ukrainian tourists are concentrated in hotels.” According to him, the conflict will continue for many years to come.
“We see that the biggest task lies with us. We must look for new ways of reconciliation,” says Mr. Demirtas. At least on the territory of Turkish hotels.
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