We should bring Booking.com back to Turkey: Minister

ANKARA

Turkey should bring Booking.com back under any circumstances as the country needs to use all the latest instruments to raise its ranking among the most popular tourism destinations, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci has said.

The website on March 30 began to halt selling rooms in Turkey to Turkish users, one day after a court decision to block the website in the country upon accusations of unfair competition by a sector association. 

Zeybekci said a team in the ministry has been working on resolving the issue. 

“What the court decided was a right move. What is required right now is to bring Booking.com back to Turkey. We must do this under any circumstance. Turkey has been the world’s top sixth tourism destination and is ranked fourth across Europe. Our aim is to become the world’s top third tourism destination. To achieve this, we should use the latest technologies and instruments,” he told a group of journalists late on April 26. 

He added that he would build a direct contact with the online reservation portal in person if needed. 

“I would ask what they want. Do they want to open a branch and run operations in Turkey? Our country now has a fairly ambitious investment incentive system. We can offer them any incentive they want,” he said, adding that the Turkish side might even impose “zero taxes.”