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Turkish musician and television presenter Ayhan Sicimoglu has drawn attention to a dual taxi pricing practice in Marmaris after saying foreign visitors and Turkish passengers were quoted different fares for the same short journey.
Sicimoglu said his Italian guests were preparing to travel from Marmaris Marina to the town's cruise port before taking a ferry to Rhodes. The journey between the two locations covers around 2.1 kilometers (1.3 miles).
Because his guests did not have Turkish lira with them, Sicimoglu said he asked about the taxi fare in advance so that he could give them enough cash for the trip.
According to the response he received, Turkish passengers would be charged ₺300, while foreign tourists would be asked to pay €10 for the same route.
At the exchange rate provided, €10 was equivalent to approximately ₺540, meaning the fare quoted to tourists was substantially higher than the price given to local passengers.
Sicimoglu shared the incident on social media and said his Italian guests were initially surprised when they heard about the different prices before laughing at the situation.
"Marmaris Marina to the Cruise Port is only 2.1 kilometers. My Italian guests will leave for Rhodes tomorrow at 7:45 a.m. Since they do not have Turkish lira, I asked about the fare so I could give them enough cash. The answer: €10 for tourists and ₺300 for Turks. The Italians were surprised at first, then they started laughing," he said.
Sicimoglu used the incident to draw attention to a lack of oversight in tourism-related pricing in Marmaris, one of Türkiye's best-known resort destinations.
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