The Turks decided to abandon the classic “all inclusive”: the alcohol menu will change

After the end of the “children’s season” for Russian tourists, whose offspring went to kindergartens and schools on September 1, Turkey began implementing its “last alcohol warning”, which was issued in mid-August. All inclusive, which was proposed to be canceled in hotels so that local catering and retail trade could earn money, will remain, but there is no wine in it. The Turkish operation to “dry out” hotels began to amaze from the very first steps, and mainly the authors of the idea themselves.

After talking with those who are now on the Turkish shores, we found out what is the surprise of the “tie” in Turkish.

“When they first mentioned “all inclusive” without alcohol, our counterparties immediately said that “then don’t expect Russians,” says Kerim, a Russian-speaking representative of a travel agency in Antalya. – Then the travel agents working with Russians defended the opportunity to leave some hotels with alcohol included. And now they are half empty, but the Russians are rapidly snapping up non-alcoholic ones! It seems that everyone dreamed of getting there, but was embarrassed to say so!

– This is especially funny, given the recognition of your tourism industry, that this is also a step towards Arab tourists who are offended by Turkey for “non-Islamic” holiday conditions…

– For wealthy Arab tourists, there are halal-all-inclusive hotels. These are very expensive hotels, much more expensive than the usual “all inclusive” with alcohol. Not everyone can afford it.

– But why without wine – and more expensive?

– Halal is not just without wine, it is a special cooking technology, starting from the slaughter of livestock. This is a special hygiene and sanitation. Rich Arab tourists are not offended by Turkey. And the poor are offended, but for some reason they still go to hotels where alcohol is included in the tour price! Thought yours would be dissatisfied. But no, on the contrary. Dissatisfied only in Istanbul, but even then not tourists, but relocators.

It turns out that after last Friday, by a separate decree of the Istanbul governor, both citizens and guests of the city are forbidden to drink alcohol in public places, discontent among Russians followed.

– Owners of wine glasses, illegal of course, – Oleg, a relocant from Moscow, answers the question of which of the Russians in Istanbul is indignant about Prohibition. – In general, the decree was signed on August 17, but it started working only this Friday. Because, in a good way, the Russians did not close their underground cafes in any way, which robbed the traditional business of the locals. And now they have not been given a license for alcohol, and their “liquor stores” will close themselves. Who needs them without alcohol?! And the Turks still cook tastier. Well, you can’t work, having arrived on a tourist visa, they repeated a million times! And now, because of them, the whole of Istanbul is forced to stop!

– That’s all right?

– Almost. The list of places where it is impossible, printed all the newspapers. Prohibited in public coastal areas and territories – that is, on the embankments and beaches. Also in parks, including designated picnic areas, and any non-licensed eatery. And it was received by itself only Turkish establishments.

– Our relocants will have to retrain as bootleggers…

– Hardly, the fines are high. Just for drinking – 617 lira (about 2,200 rubles), and for selling to persons under 18, to establishments without a license, before 6 am and after 10 pm – a completely different punishment, up to a criminal offense.

– Really all for the sake of overcoming our underground restaurateurs?

– And for the sake of order. There are a lot of emergencies in the city with drunken foreigners, and because of them, the locals complain. But there is still a Muslim majority.

Well, you can understand the people of Istanbul: according to statistics, over the past six months, 9 million 776 thousand foreign citizens have “passed through” them, partially “hanging out”, most of whom are Russians.

“It’s not just about alcohol and Russians,” says Mehmet, a native of Istanbul. – In principle, it’s time to put things in order in our house. And finally got down to business. In 5 districts where the most complaints came from, the speed limit for scooters was limited to 12.5 km/h. At sights, they make completely pedestrian zones and so on. But Russians mostly deplore the free sale of alcohol at any time of the day.

But in Turkish resorts, sobriety as the norm of life in “all inclusive” was accepted with a bang not only by ordinary Russian tourists buying up “dry” tours, but even by the rich and famous. Russian deputies and stars did not fail to insert their word of support into the Turkish dry law. The first, represented by the Deputy Chairman of the Committee of the State Duma of the Russian Federation on Family, Women and Children, Vitaly Milonov, said that “you can’t drink in the all-inclusive! Because when you return to your homeland, you continue to drink, and we don’t need such people who drink, we only need non-drinkers who work.” And the stars in the person of Dana Borisova assured that we need such an “all inclusive” and now she will certainly visit Turkish resorts.