Open a Hotel in Turkey

Tourism is one of Turkey’s most prosperous industries for several years now. With various branches among which medical tourism, travel agencies, restaurants and even hotel businesses, Turkey offers many investment opportunities to foreign large enterprisers interested in this sector. Investors interested in setting up an accommodation business can also choose between the many resorts in cities by the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara which are quite famous for the luxury resorts full of 5-star hotels.

If you want to open a hotel in cities like Izmir or Antalya, our lawyers in Turkey can offer full information on the legislation related to tourism.

Registering an accommodation business in Turkey

According to the Commercial Law, both local and foreign entrepreneurs and companies are allowed to open hotels in Turkey. They can register two types of business forms through which they can offer accommodation services. These are the limited liability company for which one needs a capital of 10,000 TL (approximately 5,000 euros), or the joint stock company for which a minimum capital of 50,000 TL (close to 25,000 euros) is necessary.

Once the Turkish company is ready it can start applying for the licenses related to tourism services it will offer. Our law firm in Turkey can assist with the company registration procedure.

Licenses for Turkish hotels

In order to open a hotel in Turkey two licenses are available:

• -          one is issued by the municipal authorities through which the hotel is allowed to undertake a commercial activity – this is the business license;
• -          the tourism operation permit which is issued by the Ministry for Culture and Tourism through which the hotel is registered with the ministry.

If the first type of permit is compulsory, the second one is not. However, the tourism operation license offers more confidence to potential clients, as the hotel is registered with the Ministry for Culture and Tourism.

Classification of hotels in Turkey

Hotels in Turkey are can receive from 1 to 5 stars depending on the number of rooms they have, the facilities they offer, but also based on the distance to the sea, where applicable. It should be known that Turkish hotels must have qualified personnel, among which the manager is one of the most important employees in the company. Foreign qualified personnel may also be hired, as long as the necessary work permits have been obtained.

For full information on how to open a hotel in one of the most attractive touristic destinations in the world, please contact our Turkish lawyers.