Author Topic: How to stay in Turkey and not have the first idea about the place.  (Read 19786 times)

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Offline Highlander

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Re: How to stay in Turkey and not have the first idea about the place.
« Reply #20 on: June 07, 2015, 21:30:51 PM »
Jacqui  - I do hope that you don’t thinking I was “pick faults” just because I questioned some of the statements you made in your original post.

When I posted my response I was stating my opinion on a discussion forum which I assumed was permissible.

If people want to spend their hard earned pennies on an All-Inclusive holiday and spend all of their time lying by the pool sipping the local beverages and availing themselves of all the snacks on offer, then for me, that is their prerogative and theirs alone.



Offline Scunner

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Re: How to stay in Turkey and not have the first idea about the place.
« Reply #21 on: June 07, 2015, 21:59:51 PM »
I think roughly the same - and not just about AI. After years of scoffing at those who let a holiday shop sell them a package, when you can get your own flights, find a hotel and easily book transfers, I must admit I have grown to relove the package deal. We choose our package, everything is sorted by someone else, we just report to the airport and everything is taken care of. Of course I still do my own arrangements for our annual week in Turkey.

We tried Morocco and Tunisia, and this year it will be Mexico - all package and all AI. I would anticipate that this year will be the same. We enjoy the kids enjoying the AI and we get out and about to see the places that interest us (believe it or not we often do the Thomson trips - but also we get into town and book a few boat trips etc without their help).

We couldn't possibly live AI for the entire holiday - I find good restaurants and we go out a few nights - in fact in Morocco we booked a hotel for a couple of days and caught a bus at the bus station which was an adventure to say the least. We obviously still had the AI rooms so at times we had two hotels paid for, the adventure one and the AI one which was booked for the holiday duration. Whilst on adventures we were B&B so researched and ate out lunch & dinner - and fabulous it was too.

And that's the point, one I have made on here for years. Whether or not you like AI doesn't matter. If people who like AI come to Calis/Fethiye and venture out just once and buy one beer - it was better for Turkey that they chose there rather than Egypt or Morocco etc. Our first ever holiday in Turkey was AI andI think it is fair to say we have put a quid or two into the Turkish economy since.

It doesn't work in all cases though. On our (package) coach back to the airport I was earwigging and heard one chap asked a large family group of around 14 people if they'd gone on any of the trips, or visited the marina area. "Nah, we just like to do the pool thing when we go away - we don't go anywhere".

Offline Jacqui Harvey

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Re: How to stay in Turkey and not have the first idea about the place.
« Reply #22 on: June 07, 2015, 22:28:14 PM »
We watched a programme on T.V. about the growth of  A.I's  in Spain. One local town was a Ghost Town all the restaurants empty and shops closing down, after the opening of so many A.I's in the area. The situation was so bad  that Thomson's arranged a coach to take people into the town this was after a lot of complaints by local businesses.
So wandering into town to buy a cup of coffee may be difficult, if there is no town left.
Last week we spoke to a restaurant owner in Fethiye, one we all know.  He told us that the new and latest A.I in the area had 15,000 beds which to him mean 15,000 who would not visit his restaurant.

Offline CleopatrasAsp

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Re: How to stay in Turkey and not have the first idea about the place.
« Reply #23 on: June 07, 2015, 22:31:56 PM »
I forgive you    :)   Finding out about anywhere locally without beng lead around by the nose is information that  can then be collate.    They don't know about any of the area they are staying in.  We are just in Kakakoy now having a lovely relaxed lunch.  Then up to Hissy for that great shop with all the Turkish Crafts... Hissy may be Blackpool with sun, but the informed travel knows how to disconcern....   
I'll figure this out eventually!!!

Offline Jacqui Harvey

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Re: How to stay in Turkey and not have the first idea about the place.
« Reply #24 on: June 07, 2015, 22:39:43 PM »
This is not about people spending money on expensive All Inclusives.  It is about people coming on holiday with no knowledge or research on where there are going.  Even after staying in a resort for a week the people we met had no idea of the local area, what was there, what they could do.  They had no inkling that they could actually go to a market themselves (without being taken to an expensive gold shop on the way back).  They had no idea what they were looking at through the windows of the Kings Garden.  They even expected the waiter to guide them up to the rock tombs.     

Offline Jacqui Harvey

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Re: How to stay in Turkey and not have the first idea about the place.
« Reply #25 on: June 07, 2015, 22:41:25 PM »
I forgive you     :)   Finding out about anywhere locally without beng lead around by the nose is information that  can then be collate.    They don't know about any of the area they are staying in.  We are just in Kakakoy now having a lovely relaxed lunch.  Then up to Hissy for that great shop with all the Turkish Crafts... Hissy may be Blackpool with sun, but the informed travel knows how to disconcern....   
I'll figure this out eventually!!!


Perhap YOU would, but then we are not talking about you. We are talking about them  :)

Offline Dutchie

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Re: How to stay in Turkey and not have the first idea about the place.
« Reply #26 on: June 07, 2015, 22:45:36 PM »

Last week we spoke to a restaurant owner in Fethiye, one we all know.  He told us that the new and latest A.I in the area had 15,000 beds which to him mean 15,000 who would not visit his restaurant.
That must be a misunderstanding since there are no hotels in the area with 15,000 beds. He most likely meant 1,500 beds.
I'm not a fan of AI but nowadays it's what a lot of tourists want.

At least bread will be baked for 1500 tourists, cocktails will be served, dishes needs to be done, bed sheets needs to be washed and ironed, etc etc.

Better AI tourism than no tourism at all.

Offline Scunner

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Re: How to stay in Turkey and not have the first idea about the place.
« Reply #27 on: June 07, 2015, 22:50:24 PM »
This is not about people spending money on expensive All Inclusives.  It is about people coming on holiday with no knowledge or research on where there are going. 
 

Yes I know it's not about that - and my point was nothing to do with people spending money on expensive all inclusives either. I have been to loads of places on holiday and had no clue about local attractions etc - in fact I (and the huge majority of others I would guess, if they could be honest) had next to no knowledge about Fethiye when we first came. Did you know about Xanthos, Pinara etc? Really?

That was my motivation to write www.fethiye.co.uk - the very fact that not only do people not know what is on the doorstep, but (at that time) there was nothing on the internet at all to show people what the area had.

But for the sake of saying the same thing again and hoping people will grasp the concept - my original point is that people who find Fethiye because it offered the best AI deal is still good news for Fethiye.

Offline Scunner

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Re: How to stay in Turkey and not have the first idea about the place.
« Reply #28 on: June 07, 2015, 22:52:26 PM »

Better AI tourism than no tourism at all.


Exactly!! Thank you Dutchie there are two people who think the same way  :)

Offline Highlander

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Re: How to stay in Turkey and not have the first idea about the place.
« Reply #29 on: June 07, 2015, 22:59:19 PM »
This is not about people spending money on expensive All Inclusives.

Jacqui - your posts to date have been littered with references to A.i. and wrist bands which is why I have been responding asI have




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