Gürok Tourism Group General Director Tunç Batum said in his statement to Bloomberg HT that price increases are becoming increasingly difficult due to rising costs and international competition in the tourism sector. Stating that being able to raise prices between 5-10 percent in dollar terms is considered positive for the sector, Batum stated that Turkey is becoming more expensive compared to rival destinations such as Spain and Italy and that tour operators do not accept new price increases.
Turkey's tourism revenue increased by 5 percent in the third quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year, reaching 25 billion 526 million dollars. While the average nightly expenditure of visitors was 107 dollars, the third quarter record was broken in tourism revenues. On the other hand, the number of visitors decreased by 1.6 percent in the same period, falling to 23 million 255 thousand 7 people.
“We see it as good to be able to raise 5-10 percent in dollar terms.”
Stating that cost increases in the tourism sector cannot be reflected in prices to the same extent, Batum said that they faced a 30 percent cost increase on TL basis in the first nine months of the year. Pointing out that price increases on a foreign currency basis remain limited, he said, "We see it as good to be able to raise 5-10 percent on a dollar basis."
“Tour operators do not accept new increases”
Stating that Turkey has started to have difficulty in international price competition in tourism, Batum said that its price advantage has weakened, especially against rival destinations such as Spain and Italy. "Tour operators do not accept the new price hikes. Because we have started to become more expensive compared to countries in Europe such as Spain and Italy," he said. He stated that tourism businesses are having difficulty reflecting the increasing costs to prices, but emphasized that he does not find it appropriate to reduce prices in order to gain market share.
“It is not possible to return to old profitability rates”
Stating that the increase in tourism revenues is not reflected equally in the profitability of the sector, Batum stated that the decline in foreign exchange revenues puts pressure on businesses. "Increasing revenues does not mean that profitability has increased. There is a serious decrease in income arising from foreign exchange. It is not possible to return to old profitability," he evaluated. Pointing out that cost increases exceeding price increases narrowed the profit margins of the sector, he said that despite the growth in revenues, businesses were moving away from the profitability levels of previous years.
“There is a serious decline in the UK and German markets”
Pointing out that there is a decline in the number of visitors while Turkey's tourism revenues are increasing, Batum stated that this trend may continue in the last quarter of the year. "While there is no major problem in revenues, there seems to be a contraction in the number of visitors. We can see an increase in revenues and a decrease in the number of visitors in the last quarter," he said. He said that there was a 5 percent decrease in the number of tourists coming to Antalya, and that especially British tourists had withdrawn.
Stating that there has been a serious decrease in the number of visitors coming from Turkey's important tourism markets such as England and Germany, Batum pointed out that the contraction in the number of visitors poses a significant risk for the sector.
