The FINANCIAL — It’s easy to find people in the world that dream of spending a vacation in Turkey or Egypt.
But there are also tourists who have lost confidence in these countries as tourism destinations.
Small, dark and narrow rooms with plenty of dirt, tiny windows and the smell of damp, rusted faucets in the bathrooms and totally bland food – are but a small list of reasons from people who are against holidaying in Turkey.
The bad quality of service, far lower than in Turkey – is part of the complaints from people who have already been to Egypt. As well as this the sea in Egypt is inconvenient as in many places you simply can’t swim. There are 200-500 metre long reefs in the sea. After these, the water suddenly deepens.
“We arrived at a four star hotel in Alanya, Turkey. The room was so narrow and smelly it was impossible to stay there. We spent some extra money and moved to another hotel the next day,” said Teona Kikodze, 22. “Before we moved, a maid stole my bathrobe. I couldn’t believe it. I will never go to Alanya again in my life.”
As she added, changing hotel wasn’t easy. The only advantage was that the room looked a little bit bigger and cleaner. They stayed there for 10 days. The maid didn’t change the sheets, not once.
“Besides the conditions in the hotel, my biggest problem was the food and the sea itself,” noted Kikodze. “The dishes were too fatty and unsavoury. It wasn’t only me who didn’t like the menu. None of my friends could eat. We ate only fruit almost the whole vacation.”
She also complained that the sea was very dirty and extremely salty. It was impossible to swim in the sea. It’s better to swim in a pool than in the sea there.
Businesstravelcom, one of the travel agencies in Georgia, says that the number of Georgian clients willing to go to Turkey decreased by about 40% this summer.
“The first and most important reason for the decrease of tourist numbers to turkey is the price increase of tickets,” said Ella Karapetyan, Director of Businesstravelcom. “The price of 3-4 star hotels increased by 200-300 USD in comparison to last year. I guess the second reason could be that people are fed up with Turkey. With the same amount of money they can go to Europe. Most customers choose Spain or Italy.”
As Karapetyan explained, the last season was a serious fall for tourism in Egypt as well. Political unrest and riots reduced the season to two months only. She supposes that this fact will influence the following winter season as well. People still express doubt in connection to travelling to a country with such troubling politics.
If you want to have a better vacation in Turkey you have to book a very good hotel to entertain yourself, suggests Tika Kopaladze.
“It costs a lot. I have been there and I think it’s not worth throwing so much money at very good hotels. Even if it’s a five star hotel, there is nothing more to do there, “said Kopaladze. “To spend most of your time in the hotel and disco is boring in my opinion. I would prefer to go to Europe with the same amount of money. I would see the sights and visit historical places.”
She said that there are not even any good shopping malls in Turkey outside of Istanbul.
“In regards to Sharm El Sheikh, a person can visit it once and that’s enough,” added Kopaladze. “I have been there once and will never go back again. I felt uncomfortable because the service was extremely low. The streets are very dirty as well. A 5 star hotel in Egypt is far worse than a 4 star one in Turkey.”
She also recalls that she was afraid of sharks and couldn’t swim in the sea. When they walked in the streets their tour guide warned them to be careful of thieves.
For Giorgi Gudadze, the most annoying aspect was the exaggerated attention from Egyptian men towards foreign women.
“One guy even offered me several camels for my wife. Unbelievable!” said Gudadze.
Unlike these people there are tourists who adore vacations in Turkey and Egypt.
“I’ve been 5 times in Turkey. I’ve been to Alanya and Kemer. Both of them are my favorable places,” said Giorgi Jokhadze.” For me 4 star hotel was absolutely comfortable. Actually I don’t need much comfort. I use the room just for sleeping. I’ve entertained myself very well every time I’ve been there. “
“I’ve been to Istanbul two weeks ago and I’m fascinated,” said Keti Turkadze.
As Karapetyan noted there was the client in Businesstravelcom , who went for the second time in Turkey this June.
“Mostly young guys book tickets for Turkey this summer. These are the students, who have limited budget. They don’t care for much comfort. They don’t care if the faucets are roosted in the bathroom,” added Karapetyan.
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