Cunning tourists who try to save money on hotels in Turkey by renting private houses daily will soon be taxed. This is how Turkish hoteliers were reassured by the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Ersoy, who said that the corresponding law on Airbnb-style daily rentals with its taxation will be ready at the end of the year — and according to it, taxes will be paid by tourists for the entire time they stay in such houses or apartments.
The topic of renting out housing to foreigners has suddenly become relevant for the Turkish hotel business in recent months: hoteliers are sure that it is precisely renting out housing to foreigners, and often foreigners, that causes great damage to the tourism sector and contributes to the outflow of tourists. As stated by Mete Vardar, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Jolly Tur, the number of visitors to Turkey is increasing, but at least 20% of them do not stay in hotels. As a result, Mr. Ersoy said that taxes will be collected from houses that are rented out daily.
“Some of the tourists stay in houses bought by the same tourists. We will try to eliminate the possibility of illegal business development. Identification will be required for this rental. And all tourists will pay accommodation taxes. We are preparing for the new regulation. It will be ready by the end of the year,” said the Turkish Minister of Tourism.
At the same time, tourism experts understand that fighting Airbnb and banning the housing rental scheme is pointless. However, they need to be regulated.
However, we remind you that not everyone is tolerant of the private sector. Previously, hoteliers accused “private owners” of “stealing tourists.” “Foreigners compete with us without paying any taxes, operating “in the dark”. Russians, Germans, and Englishmen buy houses in Alanya and rent them daily and weekly at a high price. At the same time, they do not pay a single penny of taxes to Turkey but earn a lot of money. Stealing tax-paying hotel customers is a shameful crime,” said Mehmet Dahaoglu, vice president of the Alanya Tourism Promotion Fund (ALTAV) and Alanya Tour Operators Association (ALTID). He called for the introduction of restrictions on the online real estate rental site and, in general, for the fight against “customer theft.” Read details here.