ALL INCLUSIVE SYSTEM IN TURKEY

Many centuries ago, all inclusive system was born in Caribbean Islands. Occupants of these islands want to protect their noble guests from pirate s attacks and so they surround their accommodation places by bold walls. Due to dangerous situations, all needs should be meet within the limits of the accommodation establishment. The main idea that lies under the concept is protection and comfort. All inclusive concept means that all costs related to th e purchase of the estate is included in the price; therefore the prices shown are always your final price. Today, many Mediterranean countries use this concept in tourism. We will examine the changes which come from with all inclusive system in Turkey and we ll look at the development of this concept for past, today and tomorrow. In the beginnings of 1990s all -inclusive system is firstly applied by Marco Polo. Then the followers are; Magic Life, Robinson Club, Club Med, IC Hotels and Gloria. In Magic Life, Cem K nay made all-inclusive system widespread through Turkey - especially all sea side regions-. Firstly, Mediterranean region and the other regions having sea side hotels applied this system successfully. Iraq war, PKK and earthquakes which occurred in t he 1990s, had negative effects on tourism sector and also created an adverse image among tourists. Due to these kinds of problems, five stars hotels and first class holiday villages started to apply all-inclusive system by contacting with tour operators in order not to encounter economic loss again and in order to be able to increase occupancy rate. In the following years, three and four stars hotels and apart hotels joined all-inclusive system, as well. Besides these reasons, all-inclusive system

played an important role in appealing more tourists and declining procedures about money during holiday. In addition, to minimize the decisions about the money during holiday and to eliminate stress, depressed and problems are the causes of spending money. All- inclusive system has developed since the recent years and is applied by Turkey much more than other countries. Especially, in the recent years, there has been a sharp increase in the number of accommodations which increase the intensity of competition at both the interior market and the exterior market. The hotel investors and managers started to define the main problem in the tourism as the surplus of the supply. Due to intensify of competition, firstly the Mediterranean region and the other sea side regions went over the strategies of the marketing. With this process, the hotel managers started to prefer the price which is the easiest marketing weapon by reducing the quality and in the following period, they integrate the low-cost strategies with the all-inclusive system.

Today, the country that applies most to all -inclusive system, and has benefits from it is Turkey. This situation sets an example for other rival countries, such as Spain. In spite of some problems mentioned before, the reason of the increa se in today s tourism demand for Turkey is the growth of all-inclusive system. In Turkey, the application rate of all-inclusive system is % 60. Today, this system is accepted easily and quickly by the people who want to find everything ready, and who prefe r the easiest way to manage this, also the people who want to exist in technological environment. As a result, all -inclusive system is seen as the newest marketing strategy that has been accelerated in Turkey.

All-inclusive system has advantages for some groups, and hotels, holiday villages etc. that have made the most important contribution to the development of this system are the first group. The most important positive effect of this system on them is an increase in occupancy rate, which indicates marketing in tourism industry is easier now. Moreover, the hotels and holiday villages that carry out this system lengthen a season between 15 and 30 days. Travel agencies that direct the operation of this system in hotels, and establish a connection between hotels and customers form the second group that has advantages from all inclusive system. Today, travel agencies work as brokerage firms in this system. Their commission fees are paid per customer. Transfer costs, guidance service costs, and profit rates are added to price. Also, different travel agencies perform all inclusive system in different ways; but all performances are in accordance with package tours. For instance, while some hotels do not incorporated even the expenditures on shows, sports activities, and health services in price, some also serve imported foods and drinks. Customers are the third group that has advantages from all-inclusive system, and is pleased most. Costs are lower than other boardinghouse types today is the most attractive benefi t in terms of them. Tours are generally prepared for seven days; so people have a chance to take a holiday that lasts longer than before. In addition, the details about holiday are planned, and no extra expenses are required in this system tempt customers. Therefore, holidaymakers go on holiday with an accurate budget. Before buying a package tour, they know the most appropriate one for them is applied at which hotel, and what features are involved in. While some apply this system without any time boundarie s, some ask for extra payments after midnight. Because it is hard for families with children to estimate how much they will spend, this system is primarily suitable to them. Turkey is one of the major

destinations for foreign tourists that belong to lower income level, and by the help of this system, Turkey today has a more important role in the world s tourism industry. Hotel staffs are the fourth group has advantages from all-inclusive system. Because tourism is a labor-intensive industry, after the development of this system, hotels now need more employees. As a result, this system helps unemployment rate decrease. Independent tradesmen in holiday regions that meet hotels all kinds of needs are the last groups that have advantages from all-inclusive system. Furthermore, these trades people related to hotels gain more owing to an increase in the consumption rate through this system. Both more foreign and more local tourists are attracted to holiday regions by this system leads all tradesmen to profit by. A ccording to some surveys, today, these people s earning rate is lifted upward. After discussing the situation of all inclusive system in Turkey yesterday and now, we should argue if this system should be continued to applied or not and in order to able to determine this, both of the cases should be taken into consideration with its advantages and disadvantages. Primarily, we mentioned the advantages while considering the today s situation so it is time to consider the disadvantages. All inclusive system has drawbacks for both the general tourism economy of Turkey and accommodation facilities. Firstly, this system changes the tourist profile in a negative way. The new profile is families with children and low income group. In number of elderly and regular tourists there is a decrease. These new profile tourists do not want to go out from the hotel because they have paid the bill before. They do not want to spend extra money during their vacation for meal (i.e.). Therefore, small local shops can not gain any i ncome from tourism. Furthermore, the facility has to produce, store and offer to customers

continuously all the services which are included in the system. This complicates the hotel s operation and increases cost. Another point is hotels have to customize their services according to their customer profile and they have to provide standardization to an extent for fast flowing of the works. Although the hotel is very inclusive, to meet the needs of all customers becom e impossible. In addition, complexity of concepts like Classic All-Inclusive, Imperial All-Inclusive, Maximum All-Inclusive, Ultra or High Class All -Inclusive causes confusion. Some problems occur because tourists do not know the differences between the sy stems so sometimes it may not match their expectations. All this factors decreases tourists satisfaction so they do not come to the same hotel or Turkey again. Moreover, a hotel has to be constructed first in accordance to the system. In order to apply the system as required, physical structure of the accommodation facility firstly should be planned before construction and it has to have necessary technique equipments. Finally, we want to mention a research which is made by national office among 111 hotel s in Antalya where all inclusive system is applied commonly. According to the research, while 17.9 % of hotels are happy with the system in Turkey, 63.1 % are not happy. They mentioned that they joined the system in order to increase their competition capa bility with others and because of the pressure of tour operators and travel agencies. Out of facilities which do not apply all inclusive system 66.7 % do not think to change their systems. 14.3 % of them plan to change in all inclusive and 19 % of them als o plan if the current trend continues. Taking everything into consideration, all inclusive system has displayed a significant development in Turkey since it came. Although Turkey is not the hometown of all inclusive, it became an important center which is followed and imitated by other countries. Especially

after tourism encouragement law (1983) a spectacular increase experienced in the number of accommodation facilities in Turkey. This situation made difficult to compete for hotels. Firstly, they want to attract tourists through applying all inclusive but all hotels become highly standardized, almost same with others. So they want to create a difference in their products but their only means is price. They started to decrease their prices for competition but they could not stop at a suitable point and decrease their quality in order to maximize their profit. It decrease tourists satisfaction and also tourists spend their whole holiday in the hotel so it diminishes general tourism economy of Turkey. Probabl y, it can be made more profitable for Turkish economy through applying the system more efficient. Some researchers consider that there is a need for the action of national office. Prof.Dr. M. Mithat NER Gazi niversitesi ktisadi ve dari Bilimler Fakltesi retim yesi

Sources:

http://www.turizmgazetesi.com/articles/article.aspx?id=27617 Economic And Social Research Magazine; Spring 2005

http://www.turizmgazetesi.com/articles/article.aspx?id=33759 Prof.Dr. M. Mithat NER Gazi niversitesi ktisadi ve dari Bilimler Fakltesi retim yesi

http://www.resortacademy.com/ra/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id= 1135&Itemid=2 Yazar ,Ali Selek

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GROUP MEMBERS: GL N ER N NE E ROMAN YASEM N AKSOY ZEYNEP KARSAVURAN