Surprise accusation by Turkish hotelier: 90% of hotels serving 'fake' alcohol to guests
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Eylül 26, 2005 14:13
Fettah Tamince, owner of Turkey's luxury Rixos Hotel, made an extraordinary claim in front of a meeting on September 20 of the Antalya Trade and Industry Congress: "Of the hotels offering an 'everything included' system to their guests, 90% are putting different things into the alcohol they serve; they are serving fake alcohol to their guests." Tamince talked about his own investment on Turkey's Mediterranean coastline, and about why some of the richer tourists don't come to Turkey.
Tamince pointed to the extremely high tax rates as being at the root of high prices which keep some travelers away.
"Why aren't the rich tourists coming? We have a nearly 700% import tax. This is why 90% of hotels sell fake alcohol to tourists. Because the hotels can't make it otherwise. Let me give you an example: A guest at my hotel is charged 900 Euro for a bottle of champagne. That same champagne goes for 400 Euro in Paris, London, and Munich. So on the one hand, the room price is one fifth of what they pay in Munich, but the champagne is two times as expensive. The tourists says angrily that he won't come back again. And you have a hard time explaining to him that the price the hotel paid for the bottle was already 750 Euro....You can't explain to him that 'Kemal Unakitan (Treasury Minister) has raised the import tax on this 700%. If you want the rich tourists to come, you have to be ready to provide them with what they want."
"Why aren't the rich tourists coming? We have a nearly 700% import tax. This is why 90% of hotels sell fake alcohol to tourists. Because the hotels can't make it otherwise. Let me give you an example: A guest at my hotel is charged 900 Euro for a bottle of champagne. That same champagne goes for 400 Euro in Paris, London, and Munich. So on the one hand, the room price is one fifth of what they pay in Munich, but the champagne is two times as expensive. The tourists says angrily that he won't come back again. And you have a hard time explaining to him that the price the hotel paid for the bottle was already 750 Euro....You can't explain to him that 'Kemal Unakitan (Treasury Minister) has raised the import tax on this 700%. If you want the rich tourists to come, you have to be ready to provide them with what they want."