Alcohol prices are on the rise in Turkey following a 7.8 percent increase in special consumption tax announced this week.
According to the Hurriyet yesterday, this tax rise will go into effect immediately. This means the average increase on a 70cc bottle of the Turkish national drink Raki, will be around 4TL, a bottle of Efes likely to rise by around 1.5TL to 2TL. This begs the question, will tourists pay the price? Are locals and holidaymakers really going to spend the extra cash on drinks that are now in line with prices in some of the cheaper pubs and bars in the UK?
As expected, there has been a lot of discussion on social media sites concerning the increase. In tourist resorts like Fethiye, where many businesses are struggling to recoup losses after drops in tourist numbers over the past 2 years, bar owners are worried that this added rise in prices will cause punters to think their businesses are ripping them off. Hopefully this won’t be the case as exchange rates are still extreamly favourable for UK and European visitors to Turkey – spending money still goes far further in Turkey than most European countries.
Traditionally Turkey undergoes two tax reviews on tabacco and alcohol each year. This based according to the countries share in the domestic producer price index. The result is normally price increases on both products. Suprisingly the price of cigarettes and tabacco will remain the same for now, averaging around 11TL a pack due to inflation concerns.
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