Hotels in Turkey will have to receive a “safe and green tourism” certificate, without which they will not be able to operate from January 1, 2023, said the Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy. Essentially, this document is a new version of the certificate that was adopted during the COVID-19 period. “We think that the pandemic will gradually come to naught. Some rules will go away, other new requirements will be introduced,” the official explained. The editors of Dip.org.ua found out from Turkish hoteliers how the new certification will affect their work and what will change for tourists.
It turned out that it would not be so difficult for hotels to pass accreditation. There are even fewer requirements in the new document than before – the “old” protocol on covid safety included 129 points. The new certification of “green tourism” is supposed to be introduced gradually, in three stages. On the first of them, the hotel must meet 14 criteria, in total there will be 42 mandatory parameters.
As for the changes for tourists, the hotels noted that they do not plan to increase prices for accommodation in connection with the new accreditation. “However, an increase in the price of hotel services is already expected for another reason: due to inflation in Turkey, which amounted to about 85% over the year,” Rixos explained.
Nirvana Hotels said two of the chain’s properties, Nirvana Dolce Vita and Nirvana Mediterranean Excellence, have already received the Safe and Green Tourism certification from Bureau Verita: the needs of the environment.”
A representative of the Daria Eraslan network explained that next year accommodation facilities must meet 30% of the certification criteria, in 2025 – 70%, and by 2030 – 100%. The validity of the document is 1 year, in the future hotels will be regularly checked for its renewal.
“Our certificates have not yet reached us,” said a spokesperson for Nirvana Hotels. – We will publish them in the press and on our official website when they arrive. Accreditation for the Nirvana Cosmopolitan hotel will also be obtained.”
The Rixos hotel chain said that they do not yet have information about the criteria for the new certification: “We have a valid Safe Tourism Certificate, which is confirmed every year. It was obtained during the pandemic and was mandatory for hotels and accommodation facilities.”