Nine-day long holiday hits shop owners hard

ANKARA

Many Turks chose to take a vacation on the sea or to visit their families away from the big cities during the latest nine-day long holiday. DHA photo

Small shop owners could earn much lower than the expected in Turkey during the Feast of Sacrifice, as thousands of people left big cities for a 9-day long holiday, said the Confederation of Turkish Craftsmen and Tradesmen (TESK) head Bendevi Palandöken through a written statement. 

Palandöken added that many taxi drivers could not find customers and many candy and Turkish delight shops attracted people. 

“Turkish people preferred to take a vacation on the sea or to visit their families away from the big cities, rather than shop. Our small shop owners could not earn money during the long holiday,” he said. 

He noted very few people took taxis or went shopping in the abandoned big cities. 

“Most important of all, many people will return home from their family houses with local, hand-made products, mainly foodstuff, decreasing these people’s shopping needs more. This is not good for small shop owners,” he added.