Law on Travel Agencies and Travel Agencies Association No. 5075

Law Number: 1618
Date of Approval: 14/9/1972
Published in Official Gazette: 28/9/1972, Issue: 14320
Published in Düstur: Order: 5, Volume: 11, Page: 3049

PART ONE: Travel Agencies

I – DEFINITION

Article 1 – (Amended: 28/12/2006-5571/4 Art.)
In the implementation of this Law;

  • a) Ministry: refers to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism,
  • b) Association: refers to the Travel Agencies Association,
  • c) Operating certificate: the travel agency certificate issued by the Ministry,
  • ç) Package tour: the package tour defined in Law No. 4077 on Consumer Protection,
  • d) Tour: a commercial activity that includes promoting and transporting at least one of Turkey's historical, natural, cultural, or touristic values together, sold or committed for sale at a single price including these services, and lasting less than twenty-four hours,
  • e) Travel agency: a commercial establishment authorized to provide tourists with tourism-related information for profit, to create package tours and tours, to provide tourism accommodation, transportation, sightseeing, sports, and entertainment services, and to market the products it creates either by itself or through other travel agencies,
  • f) Guide: a person holding a guide certificate issued by the Ministry.

II – ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF TRAVEL AGENCIES

Permission
Article 2 – (Repealed: 28/12/2006-5571/29 Art.)

Classification
Article 3 – Travel agencies are grouped into three categories according to the services they provide:

  • A) (A) Group travel agencies - provide all travel agency services mentioned in Article 1.
  • B) (B) Group travel agencies - sell tickets for tours organized by (A) group travel agencies using international land, sea, and air transportation vehicles.
  • C) (C) Group travel agencies - organize domestic tours only for Turkish citizens.

(B) and (C) group travel agencies cannot provide travel agency services outside their own scope. However, they can provide services given by (A) group travel agencies. (Third paragraph repealed: 28/12/2006-5571/29 Art.)

Foreign travel agencies cannot organize tours abroad. (A) group travel agencies are not required to obtain a land passenger transportation license for international routes when using land transportation vehicles for tours abroad, but the vehicle must meet the qualifications determined by the Ministry.

Operating certificates
Article 4 – (Amended: 28/12/2006-5571/5 Art.)

It is mandatory to obtain an operating certificate from the Ministry to conduct travel agency activities in Turkey. Procedures and principles regarding applications for operating certificates are determined by regulation. Operating certificates are issued to legal entities for a single establishment. Operating certificates are non-transferable.

Bus companies providing passenger transportation services domestically and/or abroad are considered transportation service providers and are not subject to the provisions of this Law. Travel agencies may conduct travel agency activities by obtaining an operating certificate. Provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code No. 6762 are reserved.

Name of the establishment
Article 5 – The trade name previously registered by an existing travel agency in any registry office cannot be taken by another travel agency. This name cannot be used by another travel agency even by adding words that cause confusion or by making a resemblance with a new name. The above paragraph provisions also apply to facility names holding a Tourism Establishment Certificate.

Branches
Article 6 – Travel agencies may open permanent or temporary branches domestically and abroad. Travel agencies opening branches must notify the Ministry and obtain establishment permission. Branches must indicate their affiliated central office on signs, letterheads, seals, and stamps. Branches are registered on the operating certificates issued to travel agencies. (Last paragraph repealed: 28/12/2006-5571/29 Art.)

Prohibited activities
Article 7 – Travel agencies and their branches cannot benefit from their workplaces for services other than travel agency services. However, travel agencies may sell souvenirs, tourist guides, postcards, and similar items in a designated area of their workplaces.

III – QUALIFICATIONS

Qualifications of the travel agency owner
Article 8 – The following qualifications are required for owners of travel agencies, members of the board of directors of legal entity travel agencies, and authorized managers:

  • a) Being at least 18 years old,
  • b) (Amended: 23/1/2008-5728/359 Art.) Not having been sentenced to imprisonment for five years or more for intentional crimes, or for crimes against the security of the State, constitutional order and its functioning, national defense, state secrets and espionage, simple or qualified embezzlement, bribery, theft, fraud, forgery, breach of trust, fraudulent bankruptcy, bid rigging, sabotage in performance of obligation, laundering of assets derived from crime, smuggling or tax evasion, even if the periods specified in Article 53 of the Turkish Penal Code have passed,
  • c) Having sufficient commercial reputation,
  • d) Not having been penalized according to the provisions of Article 30.

Qualifications of the responsible manager of the travel agency
Article 9 – (Repealed: 28/12/2006-5571/29 Art.)

Obligations of travel agencies
Article 10 – (Amended: 28/12/2006-5571/6 Art.)

Travel agencies must comply with the following:

  • a) Except for tours including only accommodation at a single hotel and transportation to that hotel, at least one guide must be present for every forty-five persons per package tour or tour; for vehicles with a capacity exceeding forty-five persons, one guide must be present; no one other than guides may provide guiding information about Turkey's history, nature, culture, and tourism to tourists.
  • b) Not to engage in deceptive, trust-damaging, or tourism-undermining behavior.
  • c) To provide consumers with detailed programs and information about all services offered and a copy of the contract showing which insurance company insures the package tour program.
  • ç) To fulfill obligations related to activities and intermediary services organized jointly with other travel agencies, with joint and several liability.
  • d) To notify the Ministry of address changes, including branches, at least ten days before the change.
  • e) Except for services provided to transportation companies where tickets are sold and obligations within insurance limits, to fulfill all obligations arising from travel agency transactions, to have collateral determined by the Ministry between a minimum of five thousand New Turkish Lira and a maximum of thirty thousand New Turkish Lira according to the agency group, based on values specified in Article 34 of Public Procurement Law No. 4734, and to replenish the collateral within thirty days if it decreases; if obligations are not fulfilled, the Ministry may convert the collateral into cash and pay the concerned parties.
  • f) To ensure that promotional materials prepared by public professional organizations specified in the regulation are presented to customers at places in the tour program, upon request of these organizations.

The Ministry may increase the lower and upper limits of the collateral specified in paragraph (e) of this article by the revaluation rate announced according to the repeated Article 298 of the Tax Procedure Law No. 213 for past years when deemed necessary.

Procedures and principles regarding travel agencies and their branches, collaterals, promotions by public professional organizations, personnel, workplaces, tourist transport vehicles, transfer personnel qualifications, and matters in paragraph (a) are determined by regulations prepared by the Ministry.

Qualifications of the travel agency workplace
Article 11 – (Repealed: 28/12/2006-5571/29 Art.)

IV – INSURANCE

Mandatory insurance
Article 12- (Amended: 28/12/2006-5571/7 Art.)

Travel agencies must:

  • a) Insure their liability arising from failure to provide or improper provision of services promised to customers within the package tour sold in Turkey, including in case of the agency's bankruptcy. The insurer's liability must be at least equal to the package tour price. Customers may claim damages directly from the insurance company. Travel agencies and insurance companies must send a copy of the insurance contract to the Ministry within five business days of signing. If the contract ends prematurely, this must be reported to the Ministry within the same period. Insurance companies licensed in the relevant branch are obliged to provide package tour insurance. The Undersecretariat of Treasury is authorized to determine insurance premiums when necessary.
  • b) When arranging a package tour contract, inform the customer that they can insure their return expenses to the departure point in case of accident or illness, and all damages and treatment expenses arising from any accident up to the policy limit.

Amount of collateral
Article 13 – (Repealed: 28/12/2006-5571/29 Art.)

Collateral in case of cancellation of operating certificates
Article 14 – (Repealed: 28/12/2006-5571/29 Art.)

Collateral in case of termination of operation or group change
Article 15 – (Repealed: 28/12/2006-5571/29 Art.)

Status of creditors against collateral
Article 16 – (Repealed: 28/12/2006-5571/29 Art.)

V – OBLIGATIONS OF TRAVEL AGENCIES

Notification
Article 17 – Owners of travel agencies, authorized managers on behalf of the board of directors in legal entities, must notify the Ministry in writing within 30 days of any changes in the matters stated in their petitions and operating certificates.

Information provision
Article 18 – (Repealed: 28/12/2006-5571/29 Art.)

Advertising and promotion
Article 19 – Travel agencies cannot make false or misleading promotions and advertisements. (Second sentence repealed: 31/7/2008-5800/1 Art.)

Correspondence
Article 20 – Travel agencies must respond to circulars and other correspondence sent by the Ministry within 15 days or notify the Ministry of the reason for delay. They must also respond within the same period to correspondence related to travel agency operations and all tourism activities from other domestic and foreign organizations. Travel agencies must keep the above correspondence for five years. (Third paragraph repealed: 31/7/2008-5800/2 Art.)

Professional secrecy
Article 21 – Travel agencies keep the names, addresses, and personal details related to their customers' trips confidential. Provisions of relevant laws are reserved in this regard.

VI – CREDITS AND FACILITIES TO BE GRANTED TO TRAVEL AGENCIES

Credit
Article 22 – (Repealed: 28/12/2006-5571/29 Art.)

Facilities
Article 23 – (Repealed: 28/12/2006-5571/29 Art.)

VII – INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION

Inspection
Article 24 – The Ministry has the authority to inspect travel agencies and the Travel Agencies Association at any time through inspectors, expert auditors, regional directors, or other persons authorized by the Ministry. Travel agencies and the Travel Agencies Association personnel are obliged to provide all information and show documents during inspections.

Tour - base prices
Article 25 – (Repealed: 28/12/2006-5571/29 Art.)

Registry
Article 26 – Detailed and regular registries of travel agencies and the Travel Agencies Association are kept at the Ministry.

VIII – CANCELLATION AND PENALTY

Administrative fines and certificate cancellation
Article 27 – (Amended: 31/7/2008-5800/3 Art.)

Travel agencies that do not comply with the principles set forth in this Law and related legislation are subject to the following penalties by the Ministry.

a) Administrative fines and situations where these fines apply are as follows:

  1. One thousand five hundred New Turkish Lira for violation of paragraph (a) or (f) of the first paragraph of Article 10 of this Law.
  2. One thousand New Turkish Lira for violation of any of Articles 7, 17, 19, or 21, or paragraphs (c), (ç), or (d) of the first paragraph of Article 10.
  3. Two thousand New Turkish Lira for failure to provide requested information and documents within the specified time or providing misleading information or documents.
  4. For other violations of this Law, travel agencies are warned by the Ministry to correct the situation or not to repeat the violation. If corrections are not made within thirty days or the same or other violations requiring warning are detected within one year, a fine of one thousand New Turkish Lira is imposed.
  5. (Added: 7/6/2012-6326/13 Art.) One thousand Turkish Lira for each act for travel agencies that do not make written guide contracts for tours or employ guides below the minimum wage.

b) The travel agency operating certificate is canceled in the following cases:

  1. Failure to obtain mandatory insurance as per Article 12 of this Law.
  2. Determination that the travel agency has lost the qualifications required for obtaining the certificate or is engaged in activities not covered by this Law.
  3. Detection of a violation of paragraph (b) or (e) of Article 10 of this Law.

Names or confusingly similar names of travel agencies whose operating certificates are canceled under this article cannot be reissued to any travel agency. Certificates of travel agencies temporarily or permanently expelled by the Association are suspended during the ban period if their acts do not require a penalty under paragraph (b) of this article.

Effect of cancellation
Article 28 – (Repealed: 28/12/2006-5571/29 Art.)

Prohibition from activity
Article 29 – Travel agencies operating temporarily or without an operating certificate are immediately prohibited from activity by the highest local administrative authority of their location. (Last sentence repealed: 28/12/2006-5571/29 Art.)

Penalty
Article 30 – (Amended: 28/12/2006-5571/9 Art.)

(1) Those conducting activities that travel agencies can perform under this Law without obtaining a certificate from the Ministry are subject to an administrative fine ranging from two thousand to five thousand Turkish Lira by the local administrative authority, separate from the administrative investigation specified in Article 29.

(1) Those conducting guiding activities without a certificate from the Ministry are subject to an administrative fine ranging from five hundred to two thousand Turkish Lira by the local administrative authority.

(1) During the services provided by travel agencies and contracted guides to their customers, the services explicitly committed in the contract with the customer and the correct provision of the service...