Hotels in Turkey have been warned that they will have to work according to new standards from next year: from the beginning of 2023, Turkish hotels will have to receive a new “safe and green tourism” certificate and meet the new standards, otherwise they will not be able to continue working. With this statement, the Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy “pleased” the International Congress on Resort Tourism, organized by the Mediterranean Association of Tourist Hoteliers and Operators (AKTOB).
He stated that this certificate is in fact an “improved” version of the Safe Tourism Certificate, which was put into effect during the coronavirus pandemic. Now it will also be expanded to include the so-called “green agenda”. “Turkey has become the first country to sign a protocol with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). Hotels with a green tourism certificate are very lucky in this sense. These hotels will transition to fully safe and sustainable tourism without even waiting until 2023,” said Mr. Ersoy. Hoteliers who do not have such a certificate, he, in turn, warned that at the moment they will “use even more expensive loans”, and subsequently simply will not receive a license. This will happen on January 1.
To obtain a certificate, the hotel must meet 14 criteria, there are 42 in total, but certification is expected to be introduced in three stages. “From January 1, accommodation facilities that want to obtain a business license will have to meet 14 criteria in the first stage. Otherwise, they will not be able to obtain a license,” the head of the Turkish Ministry of Tourism emphasized.
He noted that at the moment 80 hotels have applied for an “improved” certificate, 53 of them are located in Antalya. Only 27 hotels have received confirmation of certification so far.
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