The Turkish authorities intend to launch a full-scale program in the republic to transfer the tourism industry to the rails of ecological tourism. This is reported by the publication Milliyet.
In particular, it is planned to implement the project in several stages until 2030. To do this, a cooperation agreement will be signed with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), and the local tourism industry should be guided by world practices to reduce environmental pollution based on the Paris Climate Agreement.
The Turkish Ministry of Tourism is responsible for the program. The department is tasked with issuing green certificates to hotels. A similar practice was already used in the republic at the height of the coronavirus pandemic when hotels could only work after receiving a document confirming the “safety” of the accommodation facility.
The start of the project is scheduled for 2023. At this stage, the main theses of the eco-tourism program will be determined, as well as contractors who will monitor the correctness of its implementation. Then representatives of the tourist industry will join them. By 2025, the first hotels will receive “green certificates”, and by 2030 the entire tourism industry must comply with international standards laid down by the Paris climate agreement.
No specifics on the program have yet been presented: it is not clear whether it will be voluntary or voluntary-compulsory for hotels, what criteria hotels must meet to receive certificates, etc. A similar concept is already being implemented in Egypt. However, according to experts, the “green status” of the hotel matters only for some European tourists, while most vacationers are guided by the “price-quality” ratio.