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Turkey’s tourism industry asks authorities to postpone the introduction of a tax on hotel accommodation for a year

Representatives of the Turkish tourism sector have asked the government to postpone introducing a 2% tax for hotel guests. The Federation of Hoteliers of the Republic notes that when forming contracts with tour operators for the next year, the additional tax burden was not taken into account.

“We have already signed contracts for 2023 and now we cannot make changes to the cost of accommodation. The situation has come to a standstill, so we ask you to postpone the introduction of an additional fee for another year,” explained the head of the organization, Sururi Chorabatir.

According to him, the housing tax will be charged directly from the turnover of the object, but due to the economic situation in the country, the cost of maintaining and maintaining hotels for hoteliers is also growing. All these factors will lead to the fact that the tourism sector will lose part of the profit, namely, at least 20%.

“Tourism in Turkey has been on the rise lately. We are closely watched by competing countries, and they will use this tax issue against us,” Sururi Chorabatir concluded.

It is noted that today there is too much uncertainty in innovation. So, for example, hoteliers do not yet fully understand how to streamline the process of accepting payment from guests arriving on a package tour, and individual tourists purchasing accommodation “at the counter”. In addition, not all tour operators are ready to meet halfway and revise already agreed prices, taking into account new fees. It is also unclear what to do if the guest refuses to pay the check-out tax.

Hoteliers believe that at least in the first months there will be a big mess, and it will take time for the market to adapt. Despite the successful experience of applying the fee in European countries, for Turkey, such a system is an innovation.

Recall that the residence tax is planned to be introduced in Turkey from January 1, 2023.

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