REPUBLIC OF TURKEY

ISTANBUL GOVERNOR'S OFFICE

Provincial Directorate of Press and Public Relations

SAFE TOURISM CERTIFICATE AUDITS

PRESS RELEASE (2020- 111)

 Within the scope of combating the coronavirus pandemic, "Controlled Normalization Process in Accommodation Facilities" is being implemented in the tourism sector in our country, as is the case in the whole world, in order to carry out tourism activities safely.

In accordance with the circulars related to the management of the process, there is an obligation for the active accommodation facilities which are certified by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism or the municipality with a capacity of 50 rooms or more to obtain a "Safe Tourism Certificate" until 15.07.2020, and for the accommodation facilities with a capacity of 30 to 49 rooms until 01.01.2021.

The criteria for granting certificates have been posted on the website of the Tourism Promotion and Development Agency of Turkey, and the relevant circulars and the decision of the Provincial Hygiene Council numbered 98 have been announced to sector representatives and relevant organizations.

As of today, there are a total of 592 accommodation facilities in our city with 50 rooms and above, 362 of which are certified by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and 230 by the municipality. 422 of these facilities have received the "Safe Tourism Certificate".

170 accommodation facilities, which were determined to still not receive the "Safe Tourism Certificate" until the deadline of July 15, 2020, were inspected by teams established by our district governorships in accordance with the provisions of the relevant legislation.

As a result of the inspections carried out in these accommodation facilities throughout Istanbul;

• 3 facilities received "Safe Tourism Certificate".
• 12 facilities were closed since they were not deemed eligible for "Safe Tourism Certificate",
• 53 facilities were granted 10 days to complete the certification process,
• and it is seen that 92 of these facilities were closed,
• and that 10 of these facilities are operating outside the tourism sector.

Facilities that meet the specified criteria and are given "Safe Tourism Certificate" by international certification bodies are published on the website of Tourism Promotion and Development Agency of Turkey.

In order to achieve the objective of having a healthy and safe tourism sector, our inspections on accommodation facilities operating in our city and required to obtain a "Safe Tourism Certificate" will continue uninterruptedly.

Respectfully submitted to the public. 11/12/2020 – at 09.00