Hotels in Turkey are obliged to collect taxes from tourists for accommodation starting from January 1
From January 1, 2023 a law will come into force in Turkey according to which hotels, pensions, guest houses, campings, chalets and other accommodation facilities will have to pay tax at the rate of 2% of the amount paid by the tourist for staying there without VAT. A corresponding law was prepared in mid-December by the Turkish Finance Ministry. A communiqué explaining the application of the new tax law was published in the official newspaper Resmi Gazete.
The communiqué reads that the Turkish president may vary the rate – increase or decrease it by half or set different rates within these limits. The taxpayers are hotels and other accommodation facilities, but not tourists, tour operators or travel agencies.
The tax will be charged not only on the cost of living but also on all other services included in the accommodation cost: food and drinks, entertainment services, use of swimming pools, gyms, etc.
The tax does not apply to services provided outside the hotel and for a fee, as well as without accommodation – for example, if the hotel takes outside visitors to its restaurant, water park or spa center.
Hoteliers will incorporate the new tax into the price of accommodation, according to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR). That is, this year, holidays in Turkish hotels may become more expensive by 2%. However, according to the organization, under contracts already signed by tour operators in the summer of 2023 there will be no change.
To introduce a tax on tourist accommodation in Turkey was planned back in 2020, but the decision was postponed first last year and then this year because of the pandemic, wrote Hyrriyet.
The introduction of the new fee “will not affect Russian travelers,” said earlier in December, RBC Oleg Kozyrev. According to him, the amount to be paid in addition is too small compared to what it costs to travel in general.
However, the cost of recreation in hotels in Turkey in the summer of 2023 will increase, noted in October, ATOR, citing the words of the president of the Association of Tour Operators and Hoteliers of the Aegean, Vice President of the Federation of Hoteliers of Turkey Bulent Bulbuloglu. Prices are expected to be on average 15-20% higher than last year.
In September Rosstat estimated that prices for travel to Turkey in August rose by 5.3%.
Turkey is traditionally considered as one of the most popular foreign destinations for Russians. This year it has been included in the list of top 10 countries, follows from the analytical data of the ticket purchase service “Tutu.ru”.
