New regulation for digital accommodation platforms: Bill submitted to the Turkish Grand National Assembly

The bill, which was submitted to the Turkish Grand National Assembly by the AKP on August 11 and includes detailed regulations regarding accommodation applications made through digital platforms such as Airbnb, TravelGo and Booking, will be discussed in the commission.

The recess, which started after the framework law was adopted in the Turkish Grand National Assembly on 10 August, will end on 1 October. After 50 days, the 5th legislative year of the 28th term of the Turkish Grand National Assembly will begin on October 1.

PERMISSION REQUIREMENT FROM THE MINISTRY

According to the proposal, platforms that provide this type of digital accommodation will be required to obtain permission from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The Booking application could not be accessed from Turkey for 9 years. Thus, access to Booking will restart under the supervision of the Ministry. Foreign platforms currently operating will be required to obtain a permit within 3 months after the law comes into force.

THOSE WHO WILL PAY TOURISM SHARE

Foreign digital accommodation platforms will pay a tourism share of 7.5 per ten thousand to the Turkish Tourism Promotion and Development Agency.

LIMITATION ON AREAS OF ACTIVITY

The bill also imposes obligations on foreign digital accommodation platforms. In this context, foreign digital accommodation platforms will not be able to operate outside the scope of the permit and will not be able to sell and market other products.