by Burak Akinci

ANKARA, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- In resort towns like Bodrum, Datca and Cesme along the Turkish Aegean Coast, the once bustling and busy streets with crowded diners and fully-booked hotels have turned rather quiet this season. Some local businesses, heavily dependent on tourism, are offering discounts to attract travelers home and abroad.

The hit comes mostly from a still-elevated inflation rate in the country that has shot up the operational costs of Turkish businesses, such as rent, employee wages, insurance and taxes, amid exorbitant prices.

Türkiye has long been grappling with a severe cost-of-living crisis, prompting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reverse course on interest rate cuts in June 2023. Since then, the central bank has aggressively raised its benchmark rate to 50 percent to cool the economy.

Official data on Monday showed that the country's annual inflation rate cooled to 61.78 percent in July, marking the second consecutive month of deceleration, but the price pressure is still there. The rise in costs in the hotel and restaurant segment has reached 76 percent, driving up prices for local holidaymakers especially.

"Bookings for this season are low in some places compared to last year because of rising prices across the board," Hamit Kuk of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies told Xinhua.

With Greece's introduction of fast-track visa for Turkish tourists, local holidaymakers intend to go to nearby Greek islands, which offer more affordable prices.

Despite the lackluster performance of the Turkish Aegean Coast, which primarily draws local tourists, the overall picture of Türkiye's tourism sector remains promising, buoyed by a significant influx of foreign visitors who are less senstive to the price hikes.

During a news conference held on July 31, Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said total arrivals in Türkiye in the first six months of 2024 reached 26.1 million, up 13.9 percent year-on-year.

The tourism industry generated 23.7 billion dollars in revenues in the same period, he said. "This shows that Türkiye achieved a record income."

Industry representatives are also optimistic about reaching this year's goal of hosting 60 million foreign visitors and securing 60 billion U.S. dollars in tourism revenues, citing the government's potential progress in addressing inflation, and the encouraging statistics from the first half of the year.

Tourism is a critical income source for Türkiye. Last year, the country welcomed 49.2 million foreign tourists, dubbed the best year ever for the industry with 53.4 billion dollars in revenues.

"Official data suggests that Türkiye can reach its targets this season. Our feedback from our local partners is also in line with these figures," Murat Toktas, vice president of the Turkish Hoteliers Federation, told Xinhua.

In the eyes of Kuk, Türkiye still offers a high price-performance ratio despite high inflation, and vacations in the country are still attractive.

Local travelers and some foreign visitors are shifting their travel preferences toward off seasons like October and November when Turkish resorts are still sunny while things are cheaper than in high seasons, Kuk said.

"Luxury resorts and destinations essentially preferred by foreign travelers have still a high occupancy rate," Kuk noted, citing the high occupancy rate in the Turkish Riviera in southwestern Türkiye as an example. Enditem

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