Exchange rate fluctuations next summer could threaten the most popular holiday destination for our compatriots - Turkey. Domestic companies have already faced the fact that local hotels are trying to set prices for the summer season in euros.
According to Imran Nazarov, general representative of the company "Deep Tour" in the CIS, as early as January 2004 the issue of payments for guaranteed blocks of places for the following summer was quite acute, since many hotel owners simply did not want to indicate prices for rooms, or wanted to talk only in euros. As a result of negotiations, it is usually possible to bring the Turks back to the dollar zone, but the cost of a room increases by 10-15% compared to last year. Tour operators note that regardless of the currency in which the offer is made, prices for Turkey will still rise. They have already grown by 10%, or even by all 20%.
Turkey intends to join the European Union, so it already uses its currency as the main standard for prices. Since mid-last year, many local shops, markets, restaurants, and hairdressers have switched to the euro. So far, domestic operators assure that the change of currency will not scare away our tourists, and Turkey will still remain for them a country where the price-quality ratio is the most attractive on the tourist market. True, experience shows that problems are sure to arise. For example, last summer Bulgaria conducted a similar experiment: half of the hotels set their price lists in euros. Tourists from former Soviet Union countries completely ignored such hotels, preferring to stay in dollar hotels and not deal with foreign money. By the way, this summer Bulgaria is fully switching to the euro. Analysts believe that due to this, the tourist flow to the country will decrease by 20-25%.
Spain could well attract Bulgarian and, possibly, Turkish guests. Local companies have already offered our operators more favorable cooperation terms. The Spaniards also intend to take part in advertising campaigns organized by domestic operators. Thanks to such measures, the flow could grow by 10-15%.