Less Iranians visit Turkey as rial falls
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Some 1.8 million Iranian tourists visited Turkey last year. Hürriyet photoHürriyet photo
The devaluation in the Iranian rial over the past month has put a damper on the number of Iranian tourists flocking to Turkey.The value of the rial has fallen, making dollar-based tourism packages more expensive for the average Iranian tourist.
The 10 weekly charter flights from Iran to Turkey used to be 70 to 80 percent full, but are now
only running at 30 percent capacity.
“Turkish hotels have also increased their prices and this could lead to a drop in the number of Iranian tourists to Turkey in 2012,” said Azade Dochi, who runs the Seatravel tourism agency, which brings Iranian tourists to Turkey.
Dochi said that while Iranian tourists used to spend 740,000 rials for a one-week holiday in a four-star hotel in Turkey, the price had now shot up to 1.3 million rials after the devaluation. This translates to a 90 percent spike in prices.
Istanbul Point Hotel General Manager Nuri Kalyoncu also confirmed the recent trend in an interview with daily Radikal.
“The political problems in Iran have also had an impact on tourism. I expect there will be a 5 to 10 percent fall in the number of Iranian tourists to Turkey in 2012,” he said.
Some 1.8 million Iranian tourists visited Turkey last year.
