Tourists give priority to Turkey

These data coincided with the results of the blitz-interview of the correspondent Turan, conducted among the managers of the capital travel agencies. According to Olga Mammadova, the manager of the travel agency "Simurg", the early booking of rooms in hotels in Turkey began in February and this action continues. Lucky for those who managed to do it in February, when discounts for trips reached 35-40%. For example, in Bodrum, a week-long rest in a 3-star hotel for two on the "all-inclusive" system costs $1091, in a 5-star hotel - $1265, in Alanya, rest for the same version will cost $946 and $ 1159.

"The tour package includes the cost of the air ticket, hotel accommodation, transfer from the airport and back, insurance. With the approach of the season, prices are gradually rising, however people order tour packages. Demand for early booking was higher than in 2017," Mammadova said.

The words of a specialist about the great interest of Azerbaijani tourists to Turkish resorts were confirmed by her other colleagues from the firms Baku Tur, Euroturizm, Dervish Travel, who reported that their early bookings grew by 1.5-2 times.

Another testimony to the consistency in the preferences of Azerbaijani tourists was the report of the Association of Travel Agencies of Turkey (TURSAB), which states that in 2015 the number of Azerbaijanis who visited Turkey was 602,488 people, in 2016 - 606,223 people, and in 2017 year - 765,514 people. The share of Azerbaijani citizens in the total number of tourists who visited Turkey in 2015 was 1.66%, in 2016 - 2.39%, and in 2017 - 2.36%.

By the way, according to lenta.ru, the Russians already in January thought about summer vacation and began to actively purchase permits to Turkey. Early bookings have grown by 5 times! Hoteliers are still offer the guests discounts, and with early booking they reach 40-45%. According to the research, Turkey ranks the first in the list of preferences for the route of foreign rest among Russians, followed by Bulgaria, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

What is attractive in the Turkish resorts? An independent economist Azer Mehdiyev notes, the first is a reasonable price-quality ratio, excellent services for a more moderate fee. Second, hotels of different stars, a lot of accommodation options. For a relatively small fee you can stay in hotels of 3-5* category, where the level of service deserves all praise. However, the main feature is the "all inclusive" system, in which food and drinks are available to tourists at any time in unlimited quantities.

"In addition to clean beaches there is a developed entertainment industry: water parks, zoos, cafes, cinemas, themed tours, competitions, game programs, and other interesting events. A separate item is children. On the territory of most hotels there are animators, educators, nannies. In the resort zones of Azerbaijan such a wide range of services are not offers for holidaymakers, considering that tourists themselves have to take care of something themselves. Food is given once or twice a day," Mehdiyev said.

However, the decisive factor in the choice of places of rest is still the prices in hotels. The site disput.az again discussed the situation in the tourism sphere of the country. A wide range of opinions on the potential of regional tourism, the lack of professionalism of personnel, the lack of concerted action to introduce new services, and of course about prices and high prices.

"A day of rest in one of the regions of Azerbaijan will cost a minimum of 200 manats (100 manat for a night, and 100 manat - for food for two.) We multiply this amount, say, for a week, and it makes 1400 manat. Plus, unexpected costs (if you buy fruits, water or juice to drink, traffic, etc.). It will make approximately 1800-1900 manat. It's cheaper to fly to Antalya for a week," writes the user with the nickname CKLasse.

"I am squeamish our sea, but I love our regions. Therefore, in June I will go to Antalya, in August - to the forests in the region of Gakh," the user Beze74 shared his plans.

According to the tourism expert, Ramin Zamanov, high prices and poor quality of service in catering facilities in the regions are because the tourism business is seasonal. The absence of competition also plays a negative role. In regions there are two or three normal restaurants. They come to agreement to keep prices stably high.

"Sometimes local government bodies illegally interfere in this area. Therefore, restaurant owners are forced to compensate for rising costs, adding them in addition to the services provided to customers. Low level of service is also explained by the shortage of personnel. There are very few vocational schools in the country training service personnel. Another important point is the lack of a sufficient number of tourist sites. There are few hotels, and there is no competition, and because of lack of competition, prices are high, and the quality of services is low," Zamanov said. These are the realities of the tourism sector in Azerbaijan. While the government is concerned about attracting foreigners into the country, our citizens go to rest abroad.