Calis Beach and Fethiye Turkey Discussion Forum
Calis Beach Forum => Calis Beach Questions and Information => Topic started by: nichola on July 10, 2014, 08:17:51 AM
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According to a Fethiye Times article tourist numbers for this area are well down on previous years, occupancy rates at about 60%.
I blame the tour operators for their hugely inflated initial flight prices which accounts for the fact that many remained unsold and you can now pick up a flight at a fraction of their original selling prices so they can try to fill the many empty seats on their planes.
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We were on Calis front last night, not as busy as normal but still plenty bums on seats at the busier end.
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They are never going to reduce flights from Aberdeen, those flights are always fully booked even paying £756 for two flight only tickets, there will be no empty seats.
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So, with the exception of Aberdeen, there are lots of empty seats on flights arriving in Turkey now and have been for the past month or so.
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I think it's because of the education system now fining families £1,000 per child per week for taking them out of school during term time. This along with the extortionate prices of holidays outside of term time.
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Flights from Scotland are always more expensive than flights from the likes of Manchester, Birmingham and of course the 'capital' of the universe LONDON! I also felt that Calis and Fethiye were less busy when I was there last month but the simple truth is that people in the UK are struggling to live and keep up with bills, despite what the government are telling us about inflation being 'down'. In a country where food banks are increasing daily, it wouldn't matter how cheap flights and holidays are, people are not able to afford them. Have a look at holiday, flight and accommodation prices for 2015 - frightening. Even holidays to Spain are ridiculously priced. On this basis, I can see 2015 being even quieter in Calis and Fethiye. Then of course, depending on the outcome of the elections in Turkey next month, further restrictions on alcohol and possible additional taxes, will kill tourism completely in Turkey. The present government (Erdogan) says that realistically the Turkish Lira should be 2.18 to the UK pound. Gloomy news but true.
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£1000 per child ? Surely not !
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I think it's because of the education system now fining families £1,000 per child per week for taking them out of school during term time. This along with the extortionate prices of holidays outside of term time.
Sorry Slikmrs but according to the Gov.uk website these are the current penalty/fines that can be applied, which for some people is worth paying to save hundreds on a holiday.
One of my nieces took her 11 year old out of school for 2 weeks recently and the fine far made up for the family of 4 (the other child is only just over 2) by paying in excess of £1100 for the holiday out of school time.
Can't say I agree with this action but can see the financial sense as they have not been abroad for many years
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Quoted from Ray 1951s post : "The present government (Erdogan) says that realistically the Turkish Lira should be 2.18 to the UK pound. Gloomy news but true."
Oh my if it actually went that low I could change my lira saving back to sterling and might even make a profit, rather than losing around 30% on my investment. But I can't see the lira ever being that strong again.
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So, with the exception of Aberdeen, there are lots of empty seats on flights arriving in Turkey now and have been for the past month or so.
Definitely. Third week in July for seven days, £160 return from Glasgow - haven't seen prices like that for a while. Plenty of cheap, sub £200, return tickets from lots of other regional airports (Skyscanner). Seems to be plenty of cheap singles as well, £60 or thereabouts, perfect to mix and match for those with flexibility.
Reasons: well, I think you're partially right Nicola, but there are a lot of other factors - weak euro against pound, bad press over past year, better AI deals elsewhere and one I feel is significant is that many regular visitors may now be feeling "Turkeyed" out.
JF
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There were lots of empty seat on our Monarch flights in & out in June and I am
getting bombarded with mail offering cheap one ways as John says. I can fly
Birmingham--Dalaman any month this year for £59-99. The resorts seemed
quieter in June also.
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When booking holidays people use social media,trip advisor forums etc. Why would you book Calis when you read every day about muggings, burglary, dirty beaches no sunbeds, bad roads, rubbish piled up. Flights are much cheaper to Spain Greece etc. and cheap food and drink.
it's a good job I love the place.
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Me too Mark 8)
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I'm not sure if this is a 'Turkey' issue or a holiday issue in general. We work in France during the winter, and last season most of the tour operators said in general they were 20% down in business, with no particular reason, good snow and good snow the year before - and if anything a better euro - pound rate than the previous year.
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Dont know about France, but from January to May 2014 the Spanish enjoyed a healthy 8.2% increase from the same period in 2013. The biggest nationality increases being British, French and German. Interestingly, Scandinavian and Russian numbers were down on previous years.
JF
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Maybe too much capacity? Might even sneak a cheeky week at the prices I'm being quoted at the moment. Thomson £49 with 20kg hold plus 5kg hand luggage!
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One way of course ;)
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There some crazy flight only prices out for next year,,, example.
Gatwick to dalaman Thomas cook 11 june 14 nights @ £ 711 for 2 people includes seats together 20 kg bag and a meal. day out late evening return
Gatwick to dalaman new british airways flight 11 june 14 nights £345. 98 P for 2 people includes seats together 23 kg bags plus free food snacks & drinks. similar flight times
we just grabbed ourselves a bargain.
looking at the seat plan 35% seats already booked for this flight it appears people have taken note of the new B A service.
I also know that the Oykun hotel has already taken so many direct bookings for next year in june and we only just got booked in for our requested dates..
well pleased to pay a total of under £720 total for our next years chill out holiday over £230 cheaper than this years cost of flight & hotel cost
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When booking holidays people use social media,trip advisor forums etc. Why would you book Calis when you read every day about muggings, burglary, dirty beaches no sunbeds, bad roads, rubbish piled up. Flights are much cheaper to Spain Greece etc. and cheap food and drink.
it's a good job I love the place.
But do you love it as much as we all used to Mark, seen more people give it up in the last year than I would ever have thought. :(
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When booking holidays people use social media,trip advisor forums etc. Why would you book Calis when you read every day about muggings, burglary, dirty beaches no sunbeds, bad roads, rubbish piled up. Flights are much cheaper to Spain Greece etc. and cheap food and drink.
it's a good job I love the place.
But do you love it as much as we all used to Mark, seen more people give it up in the last year than I would ever have thought. :(
To be honest Des. we don't got to Calis from one week to the next, (except when I am power walking for exercise) we prefer the new kordon in Fethiye.
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I've been to the airport twice very recently and it was busiest I have ever seen it, maybe they are just not coming in this direction?
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looking at the BA website you can also exchange Tesco points for Avios points then redeem them for cash off just like Monarch shame they will only be flying from Gatwick :) ;D
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According to a Fethiye Times article tourist numbers for this area are well down on previous years, occupancy rates at about 60%.
I blame the tour operators for their hugely inflated initial flight prices which accounts for the fact that many remained unsold and you can now pick up a flight at a fraction of their original selling prices so they can try to fill the many empty seats on their planes.
I cannot see why this is surprising. If you look at tourism in general most countries are way down on what it use to be. All to do with economy.
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Flights from Newcastle are never very cheap but then Ive looked at coming over September this year but the hotel I stayed last year for the same dates is double what I paid last year? I would expect it at peak times but not toward end of season it seems they are happy to hold out for £30 a night and remain empty than fill the place for £20 a night?.
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Sorry yes Ie got that wrong. Another site is saying £160 per parent per child,reduced if you pay by a certain time. You are still liable for prosecution if you don't pay by then. Don't know where I read £1,000 per child from.. If we book that holiday anyway, what's going to happen? What can the school do about it?
No one's going to come and confiscate your passports or expel your kids but your school's head teacher can impose a penalty notice fine of £120 per child, per parent. Note that, according to the Department of Education, the fines are per period your child is out of school and not per day and they also reduce down to £60 if paid within 21 days.
For some families coughing up £60 per child when they're saving hundreds by booking their holiday in, say, June instead of August, will be a small price to pay.
Be warned though that if you were to leave the fine unpaid for more than 28 days, you'll face court proceedings and possibly subsequent prosecution.
Bear in mind too that the fines are discharging your liability for criminal prosecution, as taking your child out of school when it is not authorised is actually an offence and therefore is not to be taken lightly
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To be honest Des. we don't got to Calis from one week to the next, (except when I am power walking for exercise) we prefer the new kordon in Fethiye.
[/quote] Have to agree with you there Mark, I too spend more time in Fethye now, better restaurants and food, of course there is good and bad everywhere but I feel Calis prom has gone downhill rapidly over the last 5 years, better places to go in Calis away from the prom ive found. :(
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Better places yes, places where you can sit down on a bench or chair not a 6-8 inch concrete wall very hard to sit on ,if you can get down that low .I think it's disgusting a nice place to have a stroll ,but nowhere to sit >:(
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According to numerous articles in Today's Zaman and Hurriyet, Turkey is expecting fewer European visitors this year. In the Antalya region where Germans were the most numerous tourists last year has seen 1.7% fewer coming from Germany so far. However, this decline is expected to be balanced by more tourists from the Middle East (including Israel), the Gulf, and Iran and by a strong increase in Turkish tourists visiting the coastal resorts. In Antalya province the rise in tourists Jan-Jun this year was 5.6%. I guess this will show as a shift in the kind of resorts favoured, styles of accommodation and activities pursued but, overall, tourism is still growing in Turkey - just not so fast as in recent years.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-351923-antalya-tourism-numbers-show-slower-growth-in-h1.html
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According to a Fethiye Times article tourist numbers for this area are well down on previous years, occupancy rates at about 60%.
I blame the tour operators for their hugely inflated initial flight prices which accounts for the fact that many remained unsold and you can now pick up a flight at a fraction of their original selling prices so they can try to fill the many empty seats on their planes.
I cannot see why this is surprising. If you look at tourism in general most countries are way down on what it use to be. All to do with economy.
Are they? As I already posted Spain is on the up, the Greeks are forecasting a bumper year this year (Athens occupancy rate 25.4% up on 2013 for first five months of 2014) and surprisingly TURSAB are forecasting 43m visitors for this year, up from 39m last year. Portugal are also looking at a rise in numbers although Italy seems to be suffering as they are 4/5% down on last year.
The one area Portugal and Turkey have in common is where the increases are from - UAE and other Arabic countries. I know the increased presence of visitors from this region in Istanbul is quite noticeable at times. Especially when you get the Arabic version of the menu by mistake...
I was in Fethiye last week and it felt quiet for the time of year - but considering its only the second time I've been in five years I'm probably not the best judge.
JF
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This decrease isn't down to one particular thing it s a combination of The world economy, hefty fines for families taking their out of school, inflated air fares, the fact that Turkey isn't as cheap as it was a few years back and with Calis in particular, the everlasting road works that may have put last years tourist off.
Ok British tourists seem to be on the decrease with more foreign nations visiting the area. Is this a bad thing. ? NO ! It's nice to have a mixture rather than little Britain Turkish style.
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I'm a nursery manager and therefore can only have time off during school holidays, my career choice yes, but we're struggling to get a flight from Gatwick under £330 each for August, that's without hold luggage, insurance, transfers......bumping it up to nearly £800 for 2 of us. We're leaving it as late as we can in the hope prices go down in order to fill the flight but it isn't looking likely!
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Lynn25
Have a look at Monarchs website. They've got a sale on until next Friday noon.
Good Luck.
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Thanks for the advice. Just looked at Monarch and £751!! There is no cheap way to get there in August but we're still coming! Can understand why people don't want to pay those prices though, if we were a family of 4 we wouldn't be able to do it. Will keep checking in the hope we get a good deal. We came with Easyjet 3 years ago for £430 for 2 flights and have never paid more than £600 before!
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£400 a head return during school holidays is pretty much standard (including meals, booked seats and hold luggage). I booked and paid exactly that before Christmas for our flights (with good flight times) in August with Thomas Cook - £1600 before I've sipped my first Efes!
I just checked and Thomas Cook now want £2115 for the same flights!
Saying that, I did get a cracking deal last October school half-term to Bodrum for a package at a half-decent Self-Catering - less than £1K all in for a family of 4. I got it from www.latedeals.co.uk . So think it is still worth checking package prices. Sometimes you can get flights + hotel cheaper than flights alone.
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Here is an example (albeit flying to Bodrum):
http://www.holidaypirates.com/holidaypackages/cheap-summer-holiday-to-turkey-for-7-nights-including-flights-hotel-transfers-just-gbp-12233-each-choice-of-airports
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Lynn, Try booking a cancellation to any resort out of Dalaman. Marmaris normally comes up cheaper with some of the online operators such as icelolly or onthebeach.com then just use the flight.
A few others to try are Jewel in the Crown and lastminute.com