ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE OF THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY ON INCENTIVES PROVIDED TO TRAVEL AGENCIES

 

Dear Members,

In order to increase the international competitiveness of tourism sector and to ensure that TÜRSAB members receive support for their activities, as a result of intensive negotiations conducted by TÜRSAB with the Ministry of Trade and relevant institutions over a long period of time;

Published in the Official Gazette , the scope of support provided by the Ministry of Trade to our members has been expanded as of January 1, 2026, as follows, and the exhibition and convention tourism sector has been added to the scope of support.

The support to be provided under the latest amendments to the Decision is as follows:

• Agency Commission Support (Article 6)

Agency commission expenses incurred by beneficiaries for the sale and distribution of their services abroad will be supported at a rate of 50% and up to a maximum of TL 6,000,000 per year.

• Certification Support (Article 7)

Expenses related to certificates, accreditations, and certifications obtained by the beneficiary for foreign markets will be supported at a rate of 50% and up to a maximum of 4,000,000 TL per year.

• Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing Support (Article 11)

The beneficiary's expenses related to advertising, promotion, and marketing activities targeting foreign markets will be supported at a rate of 50% and up to a maximum of 25,000,000 TL per year. If the activities covered under this article are carried out in target countries determined by the Ministry or targeting target countries, the support rate may be increased by 20 points.

• Registration and Protection Support (Article 12)

The beneficiary's expenses related to the registration and protection abroad of their trademark, patent, or utility model for which they hold a domestic registration certificate will be supported at a rate of 50% and up to a maximum of 2,500,000 TL per year.

• Overseas Event Participation Support (Article 13)

Expenses related to the individual or collective participation of the cooperation organization and the beneficiary in overseas events will be supported at a rate of 50% and up to a maximum of 1,500,000 TL per event. If the overseas event is a “prestigious event,” this limit will be applied as 3,000,000 TL. If the activities covered by this article are carried out in target countries determined by the Ministry or for target countries, the support rate may be increased by 20 points.

• Overseas Event Organization Support (Article 14)

The organizer's promotion, bilateral business meetings, and organizational expenses related to the organization of overseas events for the service sectors listed in Article 2, titled “Scope,” will be supported at a rate of 50% and up to a maximum of 7,500,000 TL per organization. If the activities covered by this article are carried out in target countries determined by the Ministry or are directed towards target countries, the support rate may be increased by 20 points.

• Domestic Event Participation Support (Article 15)

Expenses related to the individual participation of the cooperation organization and the beneficiary in domestic events will be supported at a rate of 50% and up to a maximum of 600,000 TL per event. If the domestic event is a “prestigious event,” this limit will be applied as 1,200,000 TL.

• Workforce Development Support (Article 19)

For beneficiaries operating in the information technology, education, exhibition and conference tourism, logistics and transportation, or health tourism sectors, employment expenses for up to 5 personnel employed domestically for international promotion and marketing activities will be supported at a rate of 50% and up to a maximum of 90,000 TL per personnel per month.

For beneficiaries operating in the information technology, education, exhibition and conference tourism, logistics and transportation, health tourism, or technical consulting sectors, for the international promotion and marketing activities of their units; employment costs for up to 5 employees per beneficiary employed in the aforementioned overseas units will be supported at a rate of 50% and up to a maximum of 250,000 TL per employee per month.

• Complication Insurance Support (Article 20)

The beneficiary operating in the health tourism sector will receive support for 50% of the premium expenses related to the complication insurance it purchases from insurance companies based in Turkey for international health tourists, up to a maximum of 8,000,000 TL per year.

• Report and Database Membership Support (Article 23)

Beneficiaries operating in the information technology, exhibition and conference tourism, or logistics and transportation sectors will receive support for reports purchased to develop foreign market strategies; For beneficiaries operating in the information technology, consulting, exhibition and conference tourism, or logistics and transportation sectors, expenses related to database membership will be supported at a rate of 50% and up to a maximum of 2,500,000 TL per year.

• Support for Membership in International Organizations (Article 26)

The membership expenses of beneficiaries operating in the information technology, education, exhibition and conference tourism, logistics and transportation, or health tourism sectors in international organizations will be supported at a rate of 50% and up to a maximum of 2,500,000 TL per year.

• International Health Tourist Transportation Support (Article 27)

Transportation expenses related to international health tourists served by beneficiaries operating in the health tourism sector will be supported at a rate of 50% and up to a maximum of 25,000,000 TL per year.

• Foreign Language and Health Tourism Training Support (Article 30)

The foreign language and health tourism training expenses of the personnel employed by beneficiaries operating in the health tourism sector will be supported at a rate of 50% and up to a maximum of 2,000,000 TL per year.

• Domestic Event Organization Support (Article 32)

The promotion, bilateral business meeting, and organization expenses related to domestic event organization for the service sectors listed in Article 2 titled “Scope” by the cooperative organization and beneficiary operating in the exhibition and conference tourism sector will be supported at a rate of 50% and up to a maximum of 3,000,000 TL per organization.

• Support for the Development and Promotion of the Health Tourism Sector (Article 41)

The exporters' association;

• The construction, maintenance, updating, and operation of an internet portal for the export of health services aimed at developing the health tourism sector, its international promotion, and branding, as well as employment, promotion, and call center services related to the portal,
• Market intelligence and information subscriptions for the health tourism sector,
• Employment, expenses related to the examination, follow-up, and completion of applications aimed at facilitating the entry of individuals visiting our country within the scope of health tourism will be supported up to a maximum of 30,000,000 TL per year.

 

We would like to express our gratitude to Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Türkiye, for his support and contributions, to Mr. Ömer Bolat, Minister of Trade, and to the valued bureaucrats of the Ministry of Trade on behalf of our sector for this regulation, which we believe will make a significant contribution to travel agencies operating in the field of fairs, congresses, and health tourism.

We respectfully submit this information for your consideration.

 

Association of Turkish Travel Agencies
TÜRSAB

 

Annex - 1: Official Gazette Announcement