Nobody has yet considered the fact that Turkish inflation is about 15 % and that sterling is down 25% on the last 18 months!! That will account for the feel of things being more expensive for starters.

Yes it has got more expensive here and the taxation on booze is a big factor.

I dont suppose many of you will be cming to one of the fish restaurants I use then-- meal for 6 -- 430 Lira to you sir!!

Bloodyhell Bryn....... what fish were you eating? Altin Cupra!!!!!!! there are some high priced places about, and if you want , say , something special then you pay. But generally people are being taken for a ride.... if Turkey is going to survive it need to compete.

Well said wizard i totally agree what you dont need is any more soggy sam fish and chip shops soon they will be selling rock with the name through the middle
and bryn i don't think i will be joining you for your cheap portion of fish lol

CB the fish was Grida- which cost 65 lira a kilo to buy in the market but then this was a good night with lots of good food and drinks. They do also valet the car whilst your eating, its that sort of place.

we go there once in a while for a special night out but then I could show you lots of good places here where a steak will cost about 14 lira.

Incidently that particular restaurant is packed every night 365 days a year-I wish I owned it.

I brought up the £1 breakfasts because I would have thought that it would cost the restaurateur a lot more to provide a 'full english' than a traditional turkish breakfast.

Personally I'm happy to pay 'over the odds' when on holiday for the ambience and the quality of food and perhaps the view. I don't go the large resorts and therefore don't tend to see the 'meal deals' or english grub which I hear can be such a bargain in larger resorts. But likewise, I don't pay anywhere near what I would pay in the UK for a swordfish meal (and all that comes with it). I like to eat local food wherever I go but I do understand many people like to have that british flavour and for it to cost less than it does at home.

I cant understand why anyone can moan about inflated prices on foods that aren't even Turkish foods. If you eat turkish you won't see any inflated prices.

we are going to marmaris and when you have 6 teenagers in your group it is nice to be able to get a cheaper meal.us adults do look for the nice steaks and quality food but most families do like to have the option of cheaper meals especially when you have kids.
we personally like to get the cheaper beer

bryn that sounds really nice and well worth the money
still i would not let them valet the car whilst your eating, its that sort of place.because my tofas is not that sort of car lol

Something fishy about that

Nobody has yet considered the fact that Turkish inflation is about 15 % and that sterling is down 25% on the last 18 months!!

I totally agree with Bryn on this one....I tried in another post ( Turkey: Has It Changed? ) to explain this situation regarding inflation and the drop in the foreign monies.
http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=107536

On this subject I.E. the inflation against the value of the lira a lot of companies here are struggling because they can not export at these prices- there is going to be a bad dip in the economy here soon if things dont change.

if the government gets headline inflation down then exporting won't be a problem. They have also reduced the taxation on exported product. The government have also forced it's huge public sector ,including pensions, to accept a pay rise of 2%.
If you actually look at the costs.... beer retail is still 1.68. Chicken 6 ytl/kilo spuds 75kr /kilo... rice i ytl /kilo ...... restaurants are still charging 1.5 ytl for a chicken wrap in the winter.
It's this false impression that tourists will pay over the odds that keeps prices high.
Look at it another way.... "she who must be obeyed" gets her hair done for 20ytl...wash cut and blow dried at a "l'oreal" trained coiffeur! The summer price is 20 pounds!!!!!!! and the annoying phrase that tourists come out with is that it's much cheaper than in England....... pleeeeeeeeeeeease stop it!!!!

Some will be shocked at the prices Chelsea boy has showed in his above post, I agree with what he said, As I also know numerous people who run busineses in Turkey fortunately for these people im referring to they own the property outright so they do not have the hefty overheads that others do with rent etc, This is the reason for higher prices , I asked one of them could you survive if you were paying rent for your premises he answered no I would be better taking a job from the council whom would employ me permenantly throught the year, On another note here im told Taxes on some Foods and soft drinks have actually decreased this year by around 7 to 10% how many people here think that this is going to be passed on to the Consumer?
I personally dont think so.

CB you are missing the point regards exporting:

4 years ago the TL was 2.5 to the pound ergo 100YTL of product exported to UK cost the buyer 40 GBP.

now the same product has gone up by an average 20 % per year (inflation might be 10% now but was 35% 4years ago)
thus same product now cost 207 YTL and the GBP is 2.35 to the TL So the product now cost the buyer 88 GBP. even allowing for 4% UK inflation this means the product should be about 47 GBP now.

This is why exporters are hurting here!!

Now apply this effect to the tourism and you will see why things are more expensive here even if the bar owners and hotels dont hike their prices over the inflation rate.

And whilst a beer cost 1.68ytl wholesale here 5 years ago it was about 0.8 YTL.
18 years ago a beer was 60 P in a bar in marmaris 12 years ago a beer was 60 p its only since the Turkish lira has become so strong that the prices have risen. The turkish lira in real terms should be about 5 YTL to the pound.

I have found its the places that don't need a man on the door that are annoyingly expensive. The places with the fabulous view, great menu,best decor, they are already so busy they don't care if you don't go in.

In the past few years i have become friends with an english guy who owns a bar / grill in Kadriye in the Antalya region and he reckons that the biggest reason for the price hike in turkey is the all incluseive hotels ,he said that the local traders in his area are up in arms about them ,i dont know how true this is ,but when you think of it, it must be hard for small businesses in small places like Kadriye to compete with all inclusive .I go all inclusive every time i go abroad and i dont care what anyone says it is definitley cheaper.

AI is in most cases good value for money especially if you have children with you, as constant demands for soft drinks ice creams etc can cost a small fortune

Luckily enough its only my better half and I who go on holiday now and despite the good value AI offers, I think we will stick with self catering. We enjoy eating out at different restaurants each evening meeting diffrent people every night. AI hotels also tend to be larger and we prefer staying in small self catering places which seem to be friendlier. However each to their own

Stewart

I have found its the places that don't need a man on the door that are annoyingly expensive. The places with the fabulous view, great menu,best decor, they are already so busy they don't care if you don't go in.

And would you not say that it costs money to the owner to have all this...all these things cost money...

In the past few years i have become friends with an english guy who owns a bar / grill in Kadriye in the Antalya region and he reckons that the biggest reason for the price hike in turkey is the all incluseive hotels ,he said that the local traders in his area are up in arms about them ,i dont know how true this is ,but when you think of it, it must be hard for small businesses in small places like Kadriye to compete with all inclusive .I go all inclusive every time i go abroad and i dont care what anyone says it is definitley cheaper.

Well said bluepeterno1...and I do agree that this also has something to do with prices...the all inclusives kill the buisnesses of the small working man. Also don't forget what both Byrn and I live as a resident of Antalya..so we see the changing prices all the time...even weekly at the local produce..one week higher then up and down..

Produce prices are affected with snow, rain or lack of that from the farmers...

Our electic went up this year in january over 15 % ...I just payed my bill.. 200 YTL...for 1 month.. .last month was 165 YTL..and in my opinion I uses basically the same amount of electricity to run my apartment...these are winter months when I have the aircon running for heat...normally it averages about 40-60 YTL a month..we always have 2 winter month with higher prices...can remember last year maybe just over 100 YTL...

also the cost of gas /petrol or even LPG for the car is constanly on the rise...it seems that every month brings more increases..

Ä°f the inflation rates are so low then why are the interest rates still high ????
but lastly. there mightbe few store owners or restaurant owners throughout Turkey who often inflate the prices when selling to foreigners, but there are still alot more honest buisness people out there...just trying to make a living and suport their own families.

Seems to me here that their are far more Self catering/Apartments/Hotels etc etc than All inclusive's so why on earth would this take away money from others, At the end of the day the Tour company pays the All inclusive price which is contract and agreed via both parties, They make money from it why cant the others do the same?
At the end of the day the customer pays for the service they want whether it be All inclusive or the others, Some get jealous some dont.
On a personall note I never go All inclusive always self catering or room only.

All inclusive's so why on earth would this take away money from others

As many people do not leave the hotels for meals ( lunches or dinners ) the local restaurant owners suffer....many restaurants catering to tourism have closed..people have lost local jobs to this effect. Ok yes on the other hand these large hotels do provide jobs for others but usually at very low wages for basic staff.

At the end of the day the Tour company pays the All inclusive price which is contract and agreed via both parties,

The small hotels cannot compete with the larger A/I regarding prices..larger hotels fill up with capacity of guest..tour operators usually from outside turkey..want the lowest or cheapest prices possible to get rooms allotted to there compaines...when a larger hotel has 300-500 rooms and a small hotel has 20 - 40 rooms you can see the difference..

AI hotels also tend to be larger and we prefer staying in small self catering places which seem to be friendlier.

so true

On a personall note I never go All inclusive always self catering or room only.

Great to hear that...and that you are then supporting the local community

Anyways lets agree to disagree.. there is alot more I could try to explain but I want to call it a night