Türkiye is moving to tighten oversight of foreign digital accommodation platforms such as Booking.com and Airbnb after a parliamentary commission approved a bill setting out new operating requirements, fees and penalties.
The bill will regulate foreign digital accommodation platforms’ activities conducted online in Türkiye. It is expected to enter into force on Jan. 1, 2027.
Under the proposed framework, platforms will be required to obtain a two-year operating permit from the Culture and Tourism Ministry. The permit will cost 5 million Turkish liras ($101,000), with the fee to be adjusted annually according to the official revaluation rate.
Platforms will also have to be registered for digital services tax, have no outstanding tax debt and designate a representative in Türkiye who is a Turkish citizen or a Turkish-registered legal entity. They will be required to provide a local address for official notifications and respond to information requests from authorities within 15 days.
The bill would allow licensed platforms to directly facilitate online sales of ministry-certified accommodation facilities, tourism-purpose rental properties and airline tickets.
The platforms would also face restrictions on their relationships with accommodation providers. They could not unfairly lower a provider’s ranking, suspend its services or restrict its ability to offer the same service through alternative channels.
Their commissions on domestic sales would be capped at 17 percent of the service price, excluding taxes. Violations could result in fines of up to 500,000 liras, while charging fees in breach of the rules could trigger a penalty equal to 10 times the unlawfully collected amount. Repeated violations could lead to cancellation of the operating permit.
Existing foreign digital accommodation platforms operating in Türkiye when the law takes effect will have three months to apply for a permit. The bill also introduces a tourism contribution of 0.075 percent on the tax base applicable to digital services.
