Turkey may introduce tourist tax from 2020

Saturday, November 16, 2019

The tourists visiting Turkey could be forced to pay a new tourist tax from 2020. The new levy is said to be charged per person and will vary depending on the type of hotel you’re staying in.

The Turkish government announced the plans at a travel media event last week.

The bed tax will affect all adults and children over the age of 12.

Visitors will be charged on a per person basis, with the costs determined by how many stars the hotel has.

A night at a five-star hotel will cost 18 lira (£2.50) more per person, while guests staying in a four-star hotel will face a 12 lira (£1.60) charge per person, per night.

Three-star hotels are nine lira (£1.22), and one or two-star hotels are six lira (81p) per person a night. The costs can quickly add up.

For example, a family of four staying for two weeks at a five-star hotel could be faced with extra costs of up to £140 for their stay. But holidays in Turkey could still be great value – a 14-day holiday in Turkey at a five-star resort costs just £452 per person next summer, for example.

While it isn’t clear when or how the tax will be introduced at the moment, it is rumoured to come into effect by April 2020.

It’s hoped the new tax will bring as much as 2,500 million lira (£344m) to the Turkish government.

A tourist tax was introduced in Ibiza in 2018 which costs up to €4 (£3.45) per night – although there are calls to scrap it as it poses a “serious threat” to tourism.

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