Local barbers revolt in southern city over foreign competition

ANTALYA

Russians and Ukrainians fleeing the war and settling down in the southern province of Antalya have gravely impacted the commercial activities in the tourism hotspot, with especially local barbers complaining of growing competition between them and foreign barbers who charge six times the average fee.

Speaking to daily Hürriyet, Yüksel Uzun, the president of the Antalya Chamber of Barbers, stated that a large number of men's barbershops operated by Russian and Ukrainian nationals started operating last year, especially within the borders of Konyaaltı district and that local barbershops are revolting against the sudden rising competition.

Emphasizing that Russian and Ukrainian male barbers set a price tariff in foreign currencies, which creates a drastic price gap between local barbershops and foreign ones, Uzun said that foreign nationals find customers on social media and ask for astronomical prices such as 40 dollars for a haircut and shave, which corresponds to about 1,100 Turkish liras – a price that would put Turkish barbers out of business if they demanded it from their customers.

“We earn what they demand from one single customer from serving six people. Some of the resident foreigners have even registered with the Antalya Chamber of Commerce. But they do not have a certificate of mastery,” he remarked, urging district municipalities to find a solution for the issue of inflated prices.