RIA Novosti, the state backed news agency, claims that tour operators sell 'alcohol-free all-inclusive' Türkiye package tours for 7-9 per cent cheaper.
It has also been confirmed by the Association of Russian Tour Operators that alcoholic-free all-inclusive Türkiye tours has been selling. According to news published in their website, tour operators justified the new practice by citing the high taxes on alcoholic beverages in Türkiye that lead to price increases.
However, Alexan Mkrtchyan, Deputy Chairman of the Association of Travel Agencies (ATA), denied the information that alcohol-free all-inclusive tours to Turkey were being sold.
The first "official" reaction to the news came from Russian State Duma deputy Vitali Milonov. Milonov strongly supported the idea of removing alcohol from the all-inclusive system when selling tours to Türkiye. He said, "If you want to drink, please pay separately, no one is prohibiting you. But you shouldn't include everything to the package. Because when they return to their country, they continue drinking and we don't need so many heavy drinkers. We need people who don't drink but work."
Milonov went a step further and called for all-inclusive tours, including in Russia, to be completely alcohol-free everywhere.
