Former Central Bank of Turkey analyst Onur Dasdemir has urged Russian tourists not to expect cheap holidays in Turkey during the next travel season.
Because the United States dollar and the euro have strengthened against the Turkish lira while consumer prices inside Turkey have climbed, operating costs for the hotel business are increasing faster than foreign currency revenue from international guests is changing.
Speaking to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, Dasdemir said Russian holidaymakers should therefore not count on a reduction in prices. He stressed that holidays in the resort country would most likely retain a high price level in the next season as well.
According to the source cited by RIA Novosti, around 5.7 million Russians visited Turkey from January to September 2026. That figure was 3.1 per cent higher than the total recorded during the same nine-month period in 2025.
Antalya velvet season and tourist complaints
Dasdemir's remarks follow earlier complaints from a Russian travel blogger living in Turkey, who said the country had experienced its worst velvet season in recent years. According to the blogger, October 2026 brought an unpleasant surprise for both local residents and visitors in Antalya.
In Russian travel terminology, the velvet season refers to the autumn months of September and October at Mediterranean and Black Sea resorts, when intense summer heat eases into milder weather while the sea remains warm enough for swimming. Antalya, a major city and resort province on Turkey's southern Mediterranean coast known as the Turkish Riviera, serves as the country's primary hub for beach package holidays.
Turkish inflation and Russian tourism context
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, headquartered in Ankara, is the country's national monetary authority responsible for issuing the Turkish lira and setting interest rates to manage inflation. RIA Novosti is a major state-owned news agency based in Moscow.
Turkey remains one of the most popular foreign holiday destinations for Russian citizens, who can enter the country without a visa for short tourist stays. Direct flights connect cities across Russia with Turkish coastal resorts throughout the year, supporting a large all-inclusive hospitality sector that prices international tour packages in dollars and euros while paying local operating expenses in Turkish lira.
