“Only the sun and the sea remained free for tourists, but the price of enjoying them is now extremely high,” Recep Yavuz, a Turkish expert and president of the Antalya City Council Tourism Working Group, concluded his report on tourism prospects with this statement. According to him, the current situation in connection with the sanctions wars “will cause much more damage to tourism than a pandemic.” The fact is that the cost of summer vacations will skyrocket all over the world this year, and first of all due to the sharp increase in the price of jet fuel, because of which the price of air tickets has already jumped up, and this is just the beginning. As a result, summer vacations in foreign resorts will rise in price not only for tourists from Russia who are under sanctions, but also for American, German, Italian, Israeli, British and other tourists.
“Two global crises swept over tourism, one after the other. It is too early to draw any conclusions, but we can make some predictions based on the specific data we have. The price of aviation fuel, which was $375 in 2020, has risen to $912 in the first 6 months of 2022. This shows that the cost of the holiday will rise all over the world – as the increase in fuel cost will be reflected by the airline, the airline will reflect this in the prices for the tour operator, the tour operator will add it to the cost of the tour, and the invoice will eventually be billed to the tourist,” said the Turkish expert.
He also noted that any tourist's vacation plans are determined by three main “items”: his expenses before the vacation, the amount he paid for the vacation and his expenses during the vacation. “Radical changes are taking place in all three of them around the world,” the expert assured. He noted that the first article included “events in the holidaymaker's home country, his own economic situation and changes in income and expenses.” He also mentioned among these reasons the rise in inflation in European countries, the depreciation of the ruble in Russia, etc.
The second article – the price of the actual vacation – she called “the most important” among the costs of the tourist. This is mainly transportation and accommodation and this is where prices will rush up with all possible speed. All modes of transport on which tourists travel depend on fuel prices. “Fuel prices, which were at one of their lowest levels during the pandemic, have risen to their highest levels in 10 years. First of all, we are talking about rising prices for aviation fuel – it will become the largest item in the selling price,” Mr. Yavuz said, adding that the new cost of aviation fuel “is not yet reflected in the cost of travel, both due to legal regulations, and for fear of losing customers.” He also noted that if the situation continues, prices will continue to rise and “it will be impossible to sustain this increase.” According to his forecasts, high transport costs “may hit vacationers like an avalanche in the second half of 2022.”
In terms of accommodation, it is also very difficult for hotels that “received the hardest blow in their history during the pandemic”, according to the Turkish expert, to try to keep the growth in the value of each property as stable as possible. “Inflation, which has risen around the world since the pandemic, has brought new pricing rules. In addition, rising energy prices broke the back of the hotelier. The reflection of the increase in these two articles on the price of a holiday is now inevitable, and the tourist is aware of this,” he said.
Under the third article, expenses will also increase. “Everything will rise in price, no matter where the tourist goes. The price of many things from food, drinks, car rental, room accommodation, excursions, transfers will not be the same as before … ”Also, according to Mr. Yavuz, tourists will be“ impressed ”by new taxes on accommodation, airport expenses, shopping expenses – and even the prices of PCR tests, where they still remain.
“A tourist will be able to afford no more than one-fifth of what he has received from vacation so far. Only the sun and the sea remained free, but the price of their achievement is now much higher … “- summed up the Turkish expert.
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