Turkey, which stands out with its historical, cultural and natural beauties, is among the most important destinations of the world in terms of tourism. Especially in the Post-Pandemic Period, it is seen that Turkey has strengthened its feature of being a touristic attraction centre and a hub. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey expects to close the year 2022 by reaching the target of 47 million tourists visiting the country in total.
Incentives given to the tourism sector have an important role in increasing the number of tourists coming to Turkey and tourism revenues. A number of comprehensive incentives are given to Turkish tourism companies by the government.
One of the most important regulations made in order to encourage the tourism sector is the Tourism Incentive Law No. 2634.
Hotels and tourism sector investments are supported by the Ministry of Economy within the scope of various incentives and supports brought by the mentioned law, and incentives are explained in detail at http://www.ekonomi.gov.tr/.
The amount of incentive to be given to tourism investments varies according to the region where the investment will be made. Our country is divided into 6 regions in terms of incentive legislation.
For example, the amount of incentive to be given to an entrepreneur who wants to invest in a hotel in İzmir varies depending on whether the investment is made before or after 31.12.2013, whether it is in an special investment zone or not, and it is possible to receive investment incentives for the following items:
Income and Corporate Tax Deduction.
Social Security Premium Employer’s Share support.
Interest Support (Possibility to use credit with reduced interest).
Allocation of investment site for tourism facility from public resources free of charge or at low cost.
Value Added Tax (VAT) Exemption.
Customs Duty Exemption.
Regional Minimum Fixed Investment Amount support.
The amount and rates of these incentives also vary according to the region where the investment is located. For example; tourism accommodation investments to be made in Culture and Tourism Conservation and Development Regions or in thermal tourism benefit from the 5th Region Supports, so that they can receive higher support like priority regions for development.
Likewise, government incentives applied in the tourism sector also vary according to the type of investment, investments aim and incentive’s application region. In some sectors of tourism, such as healthcare tourism, education tourism, congress tourism, special supports are being given.
In this line, the Decision on Amending the Decision on Supporting the Foreign Exchange Earning Service Trade No. 2015/8 was published in the Official Gazette dated 19.08.2015 and numbered 29450.
According to this decision, health tourism investments are being supported by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Within the scope of the decision, if the patients are brought to Turkey by scheduled flight to be treated by private health institutions or airline companies that have signed a protocol with the Ministry of Economy, the plane or other transportation expenses are 50% per patient and a maximum of 1,000 USD, and if the visitor are brougt with non-scheduled (charter) aircrafts to Turkey by voyages, all transportation expenses are paid, provided that it does not exceed 200 USD per patient.
One of the supports given to tourism sector in Turkey is international promotion and fair support. Incentives are given to the sector within the scope of participation support in foreign tourism fairs, and the details are available at Ministry of Finance and Treasury’s official website.
Finally, it would be appropriate to mention other supports given by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Under the heading of “Cultural and Tourism Investment Incentives”, other types of incentives are as follows:
Other Incentives Provided by the Tourism Incentive Law
Support for Motion Picture Films
Value Added Tax (VAT) Exemption for Foreign Cinema Producers
Tax relief for Cultural Sponsorships.
