The Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB) has filed a lawsuit seeking an access ban on 10 global travel platforms, including Airbnb, citing unfair competition.
Among the platforms named in the lawsuit are Airbnb, Expedia, Hotels.com, Trip.com, and Agoda. TÜRSAB had previously taken legal action against Booking.com, which ultimately resulted in the suspension of the platform’s operations in Türkiye.
TÜRSAB announced that it has initiated legal proceedings against several international travel portals that it claims operate outside the regulatory framework, engage in unregistered activities, and create unfair competition within Türkiye’s tourism sector.
“Unregulated and Unsupervised Operations”
In a statement published on its official website, TÜRSAB said that these platforms operate in an unregulated and unsupervised manner, harming both legally operating travel agencies and consumers.
The association emphasized that consumers often have no direct counterpart to address complaints, noting that this situation undermines fair competition in the tourism economy and deepens unregistered commercial activity.
Lawsuit Filed for Access Ban on 10 Travel Portals
According to TÜRSAB’s statement, the legal action targets travel platforms that operate in Türkiye without establishing a local company, without registering as taxpayers, and without being subject to administrative oversight or sanctions.
The statement added that these platforms unlawfully provide sales, marketing, promotion, and reservation services, which under Law No. 1618 on Travel Agencies and the Association of Travel Agencies are reserved exclusively for TÜRSAB-member travel agencies.
The travel platforms named in the lawsuit are:
- Airbnb
- Expedia
- Hotels.com
- Trip.com
- Agoda
- GetYourGuide
- Viator
- Isango
- ToursByLocals
- Musement
“The Legal Process Will Be Pursued Until the End”
TÜRSAB stated that it will closely follow the legal process until its conclusion, adding:
“As TÜRSAB, we will resolutely pursue this legal process to its end in order to prevent unfair competition, put an end to unlawful and unregulated activities, and protect the rights and interests of our travel agencies.
Our fight against all structures operating informally within the tourism economy—regardless of their size or power—will continue with determination within the framework of the rule of law.”
Booking.com’s Operations in Türkiye Previously Suspended
In 2017, following a lawsuit filed by TÜRSAB to prevent unfair competition, a Turkish court ruled for the temporary suspension of Booking.com’s operations in Türkiye, effectively halting the company’s domestic activities.
Source: Patronlar Dünyası/ Prepared by: İlayda Gök