Turkey is going to introduce tourist taxation from 1 January 2019. The imposition of taxation on safety for international and domestic tourists in the amount of 1.5 euros, which will be collected at the airports upon arrival.
The local media reported with reference to the General Directorate of state airports. It is originally intended to introduce a tax of € 3 per person. However, the Association of Travel Agencies TURSAB of Turkey addressed to the Minister of Culture And Tourism of Turkey Mehmet Nuri Ersoy with the proposal to reduce the fee, as millions of tourists have already paid for a holiday in Turkey in 2019.
After negotiations with the Ministry of Transport And Infrastructure it was decided to reduce the fee to 1.5 euros per person.
The head of the Tursab Firuz Balika said that it is one of the biggest advantage of Turkey as a major tourist destination is a good value for the price and quality.
The tour packages for 2019 are sold for three months, starting in October, excluding the new tax. They bought millions of foreign tourists. 3 euros might seem a small amount, but if this expense will be imposed on tour operators, they will have to pay millions of euros.
It is noted that more than 40 million tourists coming from abroad visited Turkey in the January-October 2018 period. Previously, the Culture and Tourism Ministry announced that nearly 35.6 million foreigners visited Turkey in the first 10 months of 2018, a 22.4 percent increase compared to some 29 million in the same period last year. Istanbul, Turkey’s world-famous touristic city was the second among all cities with 11.3 million foreign visitors. In 2017, Turkey hosted 32.4 million foreign visitors in 2017 and earned tourism-based revenue of $26.5 billion.
