Turkey's parliament takes up bill that could bring Booking.com back under a state license

Turkey's parliament is set to take up a bill this week that would let foreign online booking platforms such as Booking.com sell hotel stays and plane tickets in Turkey under a state license. NTV reported that the measure could open the way for Booking.com to operate again after an access block that has lasted about nine years.

The Grand National Assembly's General Assembly opens its weekly session on Tuesday, November 10. It will first continue work on a Turkish Red Crescent bill and then debate the Foreign Digital Accommodation Platforms bill, Anadolu Agency reported on Sunday. The measure has split the tourism industry. Hotel groups back it, saying hotels should be free to sell through any channel. Travel agencies call it unequal treatment and want it withdrawn.

What the bill would do#

The bill, numbered 2/3803, carries the signatures of ruling AK Party MPs Harun Mertoğlu of Rize and Nazım Elmas of Giresun, along with other lawmakers. It was put on the General Assembly agenda as item 293 after the Public Works, Zoning, Transport and Tourism Committee adopted it, the parliamentary news agency Meclis Haber Ajansı (MEHA) reported. The trade outlet TurizmPolitika said it was submitted on August 10 with 120 signatures and adopted in committee on October 6. The committee set January 1, 2027, as the date it would take effect.

According to MEHA, AA and TurizmPolitika, the committee text would:

• Require foreign platforms to get a permit from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism before operating. The permit would cost 5 million lira, rise each year with the official revaluation rate, last two years and could not be transferred. The president could double the fee or cut it by half.
• Require applicants to be registered for Turkey's digital services tax, have no tax debts and give an address in Turkey for legal notices.
• Require each platform to name at least one representative in Turkey. A person acting as representative would have to be a Turkish citizen living in Turkey. A company would need at least one authorized officer who is a Turkish citizen living in Turkey.
• Require platforms to check and display the ministry license numbers of the hotels and holiday rentals they list.
• Apply Turkish law and give Turkish courts sole jurisdiction over disputes arising from licensed activity.
• Make platforms pay a tourism levy of 7.5 per 10,000 to the Turkish Tourism Promotion and Development Agency.
• Let authorities block access to platforms that operate without a permit or whose permit has been canceled or has expired.

The bill would also limit what platforms can charge hotels. In the original draft, a platform's share of the sale price could not exceed 17% "under whatever name." The committee narrowed that cap to sales made from inside Turkey to Turkish properties. Bookings from abroad would fall outside it. A separate clause would bar platforms from taking commission on taxes such as VAT and the accommodation tax, for both domestic and foreign sales.

Platforms could not stop hotels from offering the same or different prices on other channels. They could not force hotels into discount campaigns. They also could not lower a hotel's ranking or suspend it without an objective standard in the contract, or because the hotel had complained to a public body or a court.

The text sets a 500,000-lira administrative fine for platforms that do not use hardware and software set by the ministry. For services that are missing or not delivered, it sets fines of 50,000 to 100,000 lira per contract. If a platform does not comply with court rulings, the ministry could give it 30 days and then cancel its permit.

How the bill treats package tours#

One of the most disputed clauses deals with package tours. Under current consumer law, a sale that combines at least two services, such as a flight and a hotel, can carry special package-tour protections, including insurance, cancellation and refund rights. The bill says certain combined sales made directly by licensed foreign platforms would not count as package tours.

TurizmPolitika noted that the clause does not ban platforms from selling flights and hotels together. It also does not remove all consumer rights. The dispute is over whether those specific sales lose package-tour protections. An opposition dissent filed by MP Hüseyin Yıldız said general consumer rules do not replace package-tour guarantees. Opposition dissents also said a proposal for compulsory insurance to protect consumers if a platform or supplier goes bankrupt was not accepted.

TurizmPolitika also flagged a drafting gap. When the committee moved the rule against commission on taxes to a new paragraph, the penalty clause was not updated and still points to the old paragraph. One of the opposition dissents noted this.

The government's case#

At the committee hearing, Deputy Culture and Tourism Minister Nadir Alpaslan answered the travel agencies' charge that the bill aims to overturn earlier court rulings. He said the court had ruled as it did because no such law existed, and that its reasoning called for one. He argued that the aim of the new law is not to remove the court ruling but to fill the legal gap the court pointed to, according to the trade paper Turizm Gazetesi's account of the hearing.

Alpaslan said one of the most important results would be that foreign platforms serving consumers in Turkey would be subject to Turkish law, Turkish courts and Turkish regulators. He said that would protect consumer rights more strongly. On criticism that the ministry could expand the law by regulation, he said the power covered only services that complement listed activities, such as a meal ordered through a holiday rental. He said the power was subject to judicial review.

He also argued against applying the 17% cap to bookings from abroad. He cited platforms' global operations and some hotel chains' international contracts, TurizmPolitika reported.

Hotels: end "compulsory intermediation"#

The Turkish Hoteliers Association (TÜROB) backs the bill. Its president, Müberra Eresin, told the committee that digital booking portals have become an inseparable part of how hotels sell rooms. She said a law was timely and in line with other countries. She said TÜROB valued two provisions most: the ban on commission charged on taxes and the cap on commission rates. These would make hotel costs more predictable and help keep more tourism revenue in Turkey, she said.

Mehmet Tanju İşler, a vice president of the Turkish Hoteliers Federation (TÜROFED), framed the issue as one of choice. "Why can't we market our product freely online? Why do we need a compulsory intermediary?" he asked, according to Turizm Gazetesi. He said the sector opposes "not intermediation, but compulsory intermediation." He pointed out that Turkish hotels have long worked with foreign brands such as Marriott and Hilton without harm to Turkish tourism.

Booking.com: supportive, with limits#

Booking.com's Turkey regional manager, Bircan Kaan, told the committee that the company supports the bill "at a high level." Kaan said it would make Turkey more predictable and reliable for international platforms, and that Booking.com plans to be among the first to apply for a permit once it passes.

Kaan asked for a clearer scope and suggested limiting the law to bookings made in Turkey by Turkish citizens. Otherwise, Kaan argued, limits on bookings brought to Turkey from abroad could hurt Turkey's competitiveness against other countries. TurizmPolitika said the committee's change to the commission cap went in that direction.

Travel agencies: "capitulation"#

The Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB) opposes the bill and has asked for it to be withdrawn. Its chief legal adviser, Ferhat İlker Ünsever, told the committee that the platforms are online travel agencies and should be regulated as such. He said they should set up companies in Turkey, hire staff and fall under Turkish corporate tax, instead of naming a representative.

Ünsever said the package-tour exemption would strip consumers of insurance and refund rights they have when they buy from a Turkish agency. He also objected to letting platforms sell domestic flight tickets and said passenger data could move abroad. He argued that even with the 17% cap, part of the income from tourism inside Turkey would leave the country.

At an October 12 meeting hosted by TÜRSAB, vice president Davut Günaydın went further. "For us this is entirely a capitulation. The state will also suffer a very serious tax loss," he said, Cumhuriyet reported. "While we pay 25 percent tax, we could not find the purpose of those who sell this from abroad paying 2.5 percent." Jolly Tur chairman Mete Vardar said: "Whatever tax we pay, let the operators abroad pay the same tax. Let them come."

TurizmPolitika cautioned that the two tax rates are not directly comparable. Corporate tax is charged on profit, while the digital services tax is charged on revenue. It also said the committee report contained no detailed estimate of how many businesses or jobs would be affected.

Why it matters#

Turkey has been tightening rules on large digital platforms on several fronts. Its competition authority opened a probe into Google's AI search features this month, as 567politics reported. Tourism is also one of the country's main sources of foreign currency as it fights high inflation, which stood at 29.77% in October by the official count, as 567politics reported.

Parliament is debating the bill while committees work through the 2027 budget, including ministry spending plans. The AK Party and its allies hold a majority in the General Assembly; see our Turkey political spectrum for party positions.

MEHA noted that the final text depends on the General Assembly debate and any amendments. Passage would not by itself end the block on Booking.com. The company would still need to apply for and receive a permit.

What to watch#

The General Assembly debate begins Tuesday. Points to watch are whether the package-tour exemption survives, whether the penalty clause is fixed, whether consumer insurance is added, and how soon the ministry issues permits after January 1, 2027. For how 567politics reports on bills that have not yet passed, see our editorial standards.

Differing perspectives

Should Turkey license foreign booking platforms like Booking.com on the terms in the bill?

Each position is summarized as its supporters make it, with equal weight and in alphabetical order. A summary is not an endorsement; the evidence for each is weighed in the story above.

• Cap commissions and let hotels sell freely

  Who holds it: Turkish Hoteliers Association (TÜROB), president Müberra Eresin

  TÜROB says digital booking portals are now an inseparable sales and marketing channel for hotels and must operate in a transparent, predictable and fair competitive environment. It has pressed for rules on platform commissions for years. It welcomes the 17% cap on domestic bookings and the ban on charging commission on taxes, which it says will make hotel costs more predictable.

  In their words: TÜROB ↗

• Close the consumer-protection gaps first

  Who holds it: Opposition committee members, including MP Hüseyin Yıldız

  Opposition dissents to the committee report argue that general consumer rules do not replace package-tour guarantees, so travelers buying from foreign platforms could lose insurance, cancellation and refund protections. They say a local address does not by itself secure refunds or damages, and they wanted compulsory insurance against a platform's bankruptcy. They also warn that access blocks could hit tourists and hotels unrelated to a violation.

  In their words: TurizmPolitika ↗

• License foreign platforms and fill the legal gap

  Who holds it: Deputy Culture and Tourism Minister Nadir Alpaslan, for the government

  Alpaslan argues that the bill does not overturn court rulings but fills the legal gap the court itself pointed to. He says foreign platforms that serve consumers in Turkey would become subject to Turkish law, Turkish courts and Turkish regulators, which would protect consumer rights more strongly. He says the ministry's power to add complementary services is technical, limited and open to judicial review.

  In their words: Turizm Gazetesi ↗

• Unequal treatment amounting to capitulation

  Who holds it: Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB) and tour operators

  TÜRSAB vice president Davut Günaydın calls the bill entirely a capitulation and says the state will suffer a serious tax loss. He asks why Turkish agencies pay 25% tax while foreign sellers pay 2.5%. Jolly Tur's Mete Vardar says foreign operators should pay the same taxes and carry the same package-tour duties as Turkish firms, and warns of job losses and closures.

  In their words: Cumhuriyet ↗

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