Hotels in Turkey have been warned that they will have to work according to new standards from next year: from the beginning of 2023, Turkish hotels will have to receive a new certificate of “safe and green tourism” and meet the new standards, otherwise, they will not be able to continue working. The Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, “consoled” the International Congress on Resort Tourism organized by the Mediterranean Association of Tourist Hoteliers and Operators (AKTOB) with such a statement.
He stated that this certificate is an “improved” version of the Safe Tourism Certificate, which was put into effect during the coronavirus pandemic. Prepper, it will also be extended to the so-called “green subpoena”. “Turkey became the first country to sign a protocol with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). Hotels with a green tourism certificate are very lucky in this sense. These hotels will switch to completely safe and sustainable tourism without even waiting for 2023,” said Ersoy. He, in turn, warned hoteliers who do not have such a certificate that at the moment they will “use even more expensive loans” and later will not receive a license. This will happen on January 1.
To obtain a hotel certificate, it is necessary to meet 14 criteria, there are 42 of them in total, but the certification is supposed to be introduced in three stages. “From January 1, placement funds that want to get a business license must meet 14 criteria at the first stage. Otherwise, they will not be able to get a license,” the head of the Turkish Ministry of Tourism emphasized.
He noted that at the moment, 80 hotels have applied for an “improved” certificate, and 53 are located in Antalya. So far, only 27 hotels have received confirmation of certification.