European travel agencies are moving toward the much-disputed all-inclusive system for the 2010 tourist season, slashing prices even more in a development that has split tourism representatives. While some see the all-inclusive system as an indispensable part of tourism, others believe the practice will cause Turkey to lag behind its rivals. Irked over the global crisis of last year, travel agencies in Europe are bringing down prices, one after another, in order to keep their customers. Filiz Çintan, the reservations and contract manager at Deha Tourism, confirmed the drop in prices. “Discounts in early bookings for the coming term have already reached 25 percent,” she said. “We expect further cuts as the summer season approaches.” Noting that prices for the Russian market have been kept higher than those for the European market for years, due to the demand and the overall costs of Russian tourists, Çintan said these prices are now evening out as the Russian market has been softening for some time. Erhan Haznedar, sales manager at Biray Tours, said the decrease in prices has oriented the European and Russian markets, two main markets for Turkey, toward the all-inclusive system even more. “We should acknowledge that Turkey’s tourism has depended on the all-inclusive system since its birth, and it will be so in the future,” Haznedar told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. “There is no point in criticizing the system from which Turkey has been earning money for years.” Decrease in quality By the end of the 2009 tourism season, many European travel agencies have announced decreases in their prices for Turkey in 2010. Germany’s Alltours, for example, made a recent cut of 10 percent, the biggest among its markets, in a decision that has strained many hotels and airline companies in Turkey. Criticizing the approach of many European travel agencies, Sinem Egilmez, the sales manager for Noya Travel Agency, said keeping prices down would only result in a decrease in overall quality, as low prices will lead to a serious contraction in profit margins. “Some of these agencies offer their customers the prices that we offer to them, without adding any profit. They hope to make money on transportation, social activities and the like,” said Egilmez. However, she said there seems to be no way out of the all-inclusive system for now. Egilmez said she agrees with Haznedar that the system has already been established in Turkey and any attempt to apply other systems could lead to chaos, since the sector would not know how to turn this to its advantage.