Most of us are insider witness to the depreciation of TL, and when we see foreign tourists, most of us think, “Either they are having a free holiday in Turkey” or “He brings the holiday for free with the TL interest he earns from the foreign exchange”. However, while doing this, we can ignore the livelihood conditions of the people who are tourists within the borders of our country.
It is useful not to think so monotonously about the “European tourist” generalization. Because, answering this question on Quora, a Serbian citizen says that those who come to Turkey from their country on holiday are not poor, but rich. He even states that middle-income people from Serbia go to Greece, and low-income people go to Montenegro, which is even cheaper. The respondents include both Turks and foreigners, so let’s take a look together.
“Is it true that poor Europeans go to Turkey for vacation?” Answers to the question on Quora:
According to 2019 data, tourists coming to Turkey spent almost as much money per capita as tourists in France:
Answering the question by participating from Istanbul, Noyan Aydın answered NO to the question, referring to a study announced in 2019 based on the amount of “spend per tourist” made in 2018. According to the report, while tourists in Turkey spent 811 dollars per person in 2018, they spent 819 dollars per person in France, 982 dollars in Spain and 838 dollars in Italy. Of course, these spending amounts will change with tourism measures and bans due to the epidemic. However, ignoring the effect of the epidemic, Turkey is a country where tourists spend almost as much money as France.
However, what another Turk, who looks at the issue from a different angle, says:
Özgür Kayalar, who stated that he lived in an IT company in Belfast, Ireland for 1 year, answered the question “a big YES” and explains the situation with his experience. When he asks the engineers at work, he says that countries such as France, Italy, Montenegro, Greece, Israel and Egypt are mostly preferred for summer holidays, and he even states that Turkey is not mentioned. When he asked the same question to the cleaning workers one day when he left the office late, “I always go to Turkey!” He states that he got the answer.
Stating that he spent his childhood in Bodrum, Kayalar says that according to his own observations, the tourist profile in Bodrum matches the lowest economic and cultural level of Europe.
There are also those who say that most of the European tourists come to Turkey from rural areas, that is, from relatively low-income areas:
Another user, who seems to live in Turkey, mentions that a significant portion of the tourists are “people with average income, who are seen as ‘poor’ in their own country”, but when they cross the border and enter Turkey, they suddenly become rich.
“Better hotel, better food, more activities in Turkey for the same money…”
Another user named Ahmed, who states that he lives in Germany, states that Turkey is the best holiday option for him; It praises its beaches, metropolitan cities, geographical structure and plant diversity. He also states that he has to check the restaurant menus when he goes on vacation to Switzerland or Italy, but he does not need this in Turkey. He says that for the same money he can find better hotels, better food and more activities in Turkey. Another reason affecting his choice is that Turkey provides visa convenience.
It seems to be a good option for both low-income Europeans and high-income foreigners in Turkey; because there are options for every pocket. However, we will see what has changed in the tourism sector in the coming years.
Vacationing in Turkey with unemployment benefits:
Malvado Malpass, who lives in France, answered the question with a firm YES, “There is no need to talk about this question. Simple question, simple answer. So, yes, poor Europeans are going on vacation to Turkey using their unemployment benefits, etc. I don’t want to go into details. If you don’t believe me, come see it with your own eyes. ”
Not only “poor Europeans”, but also many middle-class Europeans can enjoy a 5-star holiday in Turkey:
Another user, Johnny Shredderman, expresses with a nice explanation that European tourists coming to Turkey cannot be referred to only with the word “poor”. He underlines that the main reason for this is that Turkey offers more opportunities for the same money. Tourists spend as much money in Turkey as they do in Italy and France, but they can do so over a longer period of time with better facilities.
Bonus:
29134
