# Aegean Touristic Enterprises And Accommodations

Tourism season opens with problems

One of the sectors affected by the February 6 earthquakes was tourism. In the sector, where reservations were adversely affected until May, reservations are expected to increase in June. Mehmet İşler, President of the Aegean Touristic Enterprises and Accommodations (ETIK) Union and Vice President of the Turkish Hoteliers Federation (TÜROFED), said, “The problems continue with the pandemic that lasted for two years, followed by the Russia-Ukraine war, the earthquake that followed, and the effects of the same war today. While waiting for support to recover from these effects, we encountered Accommodation and NPL taxes. In other countries, accommodation tax is collected only on the overnight fee, that is, on the price of the bed sold, while in our country it is collected over all the services offered by the business. Our suggestion is that the accommodation tax be charged only on the overnight fee, as in other countries." Stating that approximately 46 billion dollars of income was obtained in the tourism sector only last year, İşler said, "Accommodation and NPL taxes should either be abolished or revised and the scope and rates of application should be rearranged."