Holidaymaker’s observations from my holiday in Turkey
By Darren Cronian on Monday, September 22nd, 2008

A few weeks ago a colleague called me a ‘nosey journalist’ because whenever anyone returned from holiday I asked them did they have any negative experiences. I am no journalist, but you can imagine what I was like whilst on holiday myself and speaking with fellow holidaymakers.

Holidaymaker’s observations from my holiday in Turkey

Here are a few observations.

Hotel and holiday reviews

Trust in holiday and hotel review sites is waning simply because of the increasing number of untrue reviews, or the fact that’s perception of a destination and hotel is so different. One hotel can be comfortable and quiet to one holidaymaker, and noisy and badly run to another.

I spoke with a number of holidaymakers who said that the holiday reviews they read after booking nearly made them cancel and rebook. They decided to go with it, and were surprised that their perception was completely different. One review said that the entrance to the hotel had “many steps” and on arrival they found they only had six steps to climb up.

Well run airports

General comments from a few people stood in the queue at Dalaman Airport was that it was well run, compared to the chaos at airports across the UK. I liked the fact that you went through the entrance doors and were hit with security straight away, and they were well organised.

You then queued at check-in and straight into the departure lounges. The likes of BAA could learn a lot from airports like this. Okay, passenger numbers will be considerably less than the likes of Manchester and Gatwick, but it makes for a better experience if you get through security quickly.

Luggage collection

I actually find the trip to the baggage reclaim area the most stressful part of the holiday process; I hate waiting there, praying that my suitcase comes through and that it’s not on its way to Hawaii instead. I bite my nails, sweat, and feel really uncomfortable. The sense of relief is unbelievable when I meet up with my luggage.

Speaking with other holidaymakers it’s surprising that many are of the same opinion.

Tourists charged more than locals

I have never witnessed this before, but whilst in Turkey I noticed that some shop and restaurant owners charged locals less than they do tourists. I bought a beer which cost three lira, a local sat behind me was chatting to the bar staff was charged two lira. I am sure this happens in many countries, but it’s the first time I have experienced it.

I would love to hear your observations from your last holiday or thoughts on the points raised here.


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13 responses to “Holidaymaker’s observations from my holiday in Turkey”

Michael | 23 September, 2008 at 5:18 am

It is not uncommon at all to be charged more if you are a tourist and do not speak the local language in many countries in the world. I have run into that on multiple occasions from taxis (where they drive you the longer routes), restaurants (waiters check you out and then make up a price, make sure that you find the prices in advance) and other services.

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Darren Cronian | 23 September, 2008 at 6:14 am

@ Michael

Yep, I guess it was not uncommon, it is just the first time that I have experienced it. I suppose you can understand it, especially in countries that rely so much on the revenue that tourisms bring in.

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MarkH | 23 September, 2008 at 7:19 am

I have seen travellers being charged more in quite a number of countries. In some it is quite formal (India often has two rates to enter major sights) and in many place sit is informal (taxis etc). If it isn’t outrageous, I don’t mind too much. The cost we are paying in many of these countries is still relatively less to us than what the amount is to a local. The balance is the tricky thing.

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Darren Cronian | 23 September, 2008 at 7:45 am

@ Mark

True, I didn’t mind neither, but I think it depends on the country. For example if you were in the US and they were two rates for entrance to a tourist attraction; one for American’s one for tourists, I suspect that wouldn’t go down too well.

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Nick | 23 September, 2008 at 9:00 am

Darren

It happens here, as an x-londoner when I worked in the city, we used to go in a pub for lunch and get charged £2.50 for a large ham roll and the tourists would be charged £4. (yes this was sometime ago)

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Darren Cronian | 23 September, 2008 at 12:33 pm

@ Nick

Really, wow, that’s not good. I wonder if that still goes on in London.

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Anil | 23 September, 2008 at 12:49 pm

I’ve seen it in many places around the world. It doesn’t bother me since the locals are making a fraction of what I make. In India the average salary is $2 per day for example, so charging them a $10 entrance fee doesn’t make sense.

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Nick | 23 September, 2008 at 4:04 pm

Darren

Looked into this and Disney charge locals less than they charge tourists in Florida. All information is on their website. Also spoke to a mate in London and yes still happens but this has always been hidden. (e.g. hand over a tenner and get 7.50 change instead of 6.00)

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Darren Cronian | 23 September, 2008 at 4:57 pm

@ Nick

I am amazed! I can understand this happening in the likes of India, and under developed countries where the rates of pay for locals is considerably less than tourists, but for cities like London and corporations like Disney to this it’s outrageous.

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Darren Cronian | 23 September, 2008 at 4:58 pm

@ Anil

I agree. Like I said I don’t have any problems in some countries with this happening, if anything I think its good that tourism is helping countries like India etc.

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Nick | 26 September, 2008 at 10:01 am

Darren

The reason it done is so they get business they would otherwise lose, a regular at a pub gives them income all year round and makes the pub break even so to make a profit they charge tourists more. Same with the likes of Disney etc, why would people go if they did not get a deal? It one thing to go on holiday somewhere it another to get locals to go. I found this when I moved out of London, I saw more of the sights in the 2 years that followed than I did in the 11 years I lived there.

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Anna | 26 September, 2008 at 11:03 pm

Darren,
it happens even in such orderly places like Sweden. I live in a town with a large foreign population (there are a couple of big pharma guys here, two unis and a research institute) and I was surprised how many times the cab drivers tried to tell me when they heard me speak English that there was a flat fee for a ride from the airport to the city. Of course, there is no such thing and as soon as I switched to Swedish, they’d mumble an apology. One driver even said “Uh, I thought you were ONE OF THEM!” I mean, WTF!
I reported him to the company, but this being Sweden he’d never get reprimanded anyway.
I also noticed that at B&Bs when making a reservation over the phone in Swedish, the price quoted to me would be a few SEK less than to an English speaking friend.

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Darren Cronian | 27 September, 2008 at 12:26 am

@ Nick

True I suppose Nick. I guess its worth finding friends in places like the US that can book your Disney tickets at the local prices ;)

@ Anna

Interesting. Like I mentioned to Nick, it’s probably a good idea to find a friend in the country where your visiting to get them to make the booking for you in the local language, and save yourself some money!

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