Bloomberg: What Turkish tourists see and why they choose Greece

Restaurants in many Turkish resort towns are half empty during the peak summer season, as many locals prefer to holiday in Greece because they consider it “economical”.

Turkish tourists share their impressions of their trip to Greece on social networks. For example, they spent $640 on food and drinks for five people in Bodrum and $30 on five scoops of ice cream in Cesme. On the Greek islands, located just a few kilometers away, Turkish tourists tell Bloomberg that they “live” more comfortably, including financially.

«There is a huge difference between services, product quality and prices in Turkey and Greece“,” says Murat Yavuz, a retired Turkish banker who regularly visits Greece. Restaurants in my country use inflation as an excuse to raise prices“.

Prices at restaurants and hotels rose by an average of 91% in June from a year earlier, exceeding an already impressive inflation rate of 71.6%. The sector accounts for a third of the services economy, which the central bank has cited as a particular cause for concern in its fight against price gouging.

The tourist flow to Greece was facilitated by the launch of a simplified visa program in March this year as part of diplomatic efforts to ease tensions between Greece and Turkey. And the Turks aren't the only ones flooding the Greek islands. Tourists from all over the world have flocked to us in such numbers that Greece is already considering introducing restrictions on cruise ships, Bloomberg reminds us.

“We have lost our price advantage,” Kivanc Meric, chief executive of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, told Euronews, citing the “overvalued” Turkish lira. Meric said he expected up to 150,000 Turks to visit Samos this year, up from around 40,000 in 2023.

Restaurants in Turkey are seeing a decline in customer spending power. Kaplan Ilhan, 57, a chef at a fish restaurant in the resort town of Kusadasi, said revenues were down about 25% compared to the previous season.Cost of living is a big factor, but rumours on social media that Greece is cheaper also play a big role“, he notes.

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