TURKEY is no longer one of the cheapest holiday destinations for Brits, the boss of TUI has warned.
CEO Sebastian Ebel explained how the ‘budget’ holiday destination has seen higher costs in recent months.
Turkey is falling as being the most affordable holiday destination for Brits[/caption]
Destinations like Argentina could soon be on the menu for Brits with TUI[/caption]
Rising inflation has made the destination not as affordable with last summer seeing “half-empty restaurants” as well as usually-full hotels dropping to 70 per cent capacity.
Kıvanç Meriç from the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB) said their main selling point was the “price advantage” over other countries.
He told local media: “We have lost this in the past two years, leading to a 30 to 35 percent gap compared to our competitors.
“As a result, we are losing strength against countries like Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and even Greece.”
Instead, TUI is looking to expand to other destinations that offer good-value holidays.
Sebastian said during the conference: “Our core is leisure, but it’s not only sun and beach, it’s everything about leisure.”
Some of the suggested destinations include Southeast Asia and China.
The tour operator revealed earlier this year their plans to double the hotels in Asia by 2027, with more across Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Maldives.
And more flights were added to Thailand due to demand, with the destination named a top 2025 hotspot as well as featuring in the new season of White Lotus.
But TUI could even extend out to places like Latin America, with destinations such as Argentina, Mexico and Colombia.
He previously said: “Latin America represents a significant growth opportunity for us, and through our digital platforms, we are poised to meet the region’s rising demand, and scale quickly.
“TUI is ready to make a major impact in Latin America.”
Even Africa is seeing huge demand, following the launch of Senegal holidays in 2022 and new holidays to Kenya last year.
The Sun visited Senegal on the first flight out with TUI – here’s what we thought.
And here’s our verdict on TUI’s Kenya holidays, which are a mix of beach and safari.
Along with expansion in Cape Verde and Zanzibar, Ebel said: “There is a lot of growth outside the region of Europe.
“I very much believe in Africa.”
For shorter haul holidays, TUI has said they are seeing more bookings for non-Spain destinations due to places like Majorca and Canaries being “full”.
Ebel said: “In summer, there is high demand for Bulgaria, Tunisia and Egypt.
“What we see is more people going to Egypt in winter [instead of the Canary Islands].
Neil Swanson, who is the TUI UK and Ireland managing director, agreed: “Looking ahead to 2025, we’re seeing growing interest in North African destinations.”
Here are some other destinations set to be big this year.
Mexico could be set to be a bigger holiday destination for TUI too[/caption]
