Confession-like post from a former hotelier: "People of Alanya cut the branch they were sitting on"

Canan Şencan, a well-known figure from Alanya, summarized tourism after a news article about the lack of activity in the June tourism season.

Canan Şencan, previously known in Alanya for her voice and social personality, made a confession-like post in response to criticisms that tourism in Alanya is over.

Explaining how tourism gradually collapsed in the region, she said: "The people of Alanya cut the very branch they were sitting on."

Here is her statement:

“First, people in Alanya destroyed orange and banana orchards and turned them into hotels.

Then, without any education or knowledge in tourism, they began running hotels.

Instead of hiring qualified staff, they employed cheap laborers — young people from the east seeking jobs.

Shopkeepers started charging three different prices: for locals, foreign tourists, and domestic tourists.

They sold imitation products at the price of originals.

They overcharged every non-local customer for cheap products.

Guides made deals with jewelers, carpet sellers, and leather shops, taking tourists there to be scammed for commission.

I personally experienced and witnessed all this.

I used to run a hotel. One day during a meeting at an agency, a man in traditional trousers and cap with prayer beads came in and said, ‘Boss, when will you fill our hotel?’ I was stunned.

After I sent him out, the staff said, ‘The guests are never satisfied, they don’t want to stay.’

My guests would return every year, some even two or three times.

At the time, we sold imported drinks at the pool bar for 4,500 TL, while other bars and hotels in Alanya charged 6,500–8,000 TL.

Locals viewed tourists as passing, pluckable geese.

No offense, but the first thing they destroyed was the tourists’ sense of trust.

The people of Alanya cut the branch they were sitting on.”