APPLICATION FOR NEW BUSINESS CERTIFICATE

TRAVEL AGENT OPERATING CERTIFICATE REQUEST

PROCESS OF PROCEDURE

The legal entity who wants to obtain a travel agency business license applies to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey with a petition and, if any, documents related to trademark registration to obtain the travel agency title. For information about the application, please visit https://yigm.ktb.gov.tr/.
Within 30 (thirty) days from the notification of the approval of the travel agency title by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey, the application is made to TÜRSAB with the relevant postal notification document and the documents listed below.
After the examination and evaluation to be carried out by TÜRSAB within the scope of the application file content, the business suitability inspection is carried out by our Union at the notified address. If the examination, evaluation, and inspection carried out in the application file comply with the relevant legislation, the "membership registration fee" and "annual subscription fee" are requested from the applicant for the completion of his/her membership to our Union.
TÜRSAB informs the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey about the result of the application. For applications not approved by TÜRSAB, the reason for incompatibility is specified to the applicant. In case of any deficiency detected as a result of the examination carried out by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey, this deficiency is notified to TÜRSAB.
If the application is approved by the Ministry, a "Travel Agency Business License" is prepared for approval. After the approval, the Travel Agency Business License is prepared and notified to TÜRSAB. The issued business license is sent to the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism where the applicant is located to be delivered to the applicant by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey.

CANCELLATION OF APPLICATION

If the application is not made to TÜRSAB within 30 (thirty) days from the date the applicant is notified that the Agency title has been approved by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, or if the missing documents or procedures notified by TÜRSAB are not completed within 30 (thirty) days from the notification date, or if false documents or statements are provided, the application will be cancelled.
CANCELLATION OF DURING THE MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
If the "Travel Agency Business License" application, which has been deemed appropriate by TÜRSAB and reported to the Ministry, is not approved by the Ministry, the membership application will be cancelled and the membership registration fee will be refunded by TÜRSAB.

REQUESTED DOCUMENTS

•    Application Letter
•    Original Trade Registry Certificate 
o    Current Trade Registry Certificate including the address and authorized representatives of the applicant legal entity
•    (Annex-2) Criminal Record Certificate 
o    For the board members in joint stock companies and the person or persons authorized to represent the company, and for the managers and the person or persons authorized to represent the limited companies, Annex-2 including the ID number and criminal record certificate.
•    Original Signature Circular or Notarized Copy
•    Travel Agency Establishment Guarantee Letter 
o    The original guarantee letter issued for the amount specified in Article 29 and Article 30 of the Travel Agencies and Travel Agencies Union Regulation or; 
o    The original payment receipt (with the stamp and signature of the relevant bank) indicating the transaction explanation, written to the account of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Central Treasurer's Office at the T.C Central Bank Ankara Branch with the IBAN NO: TR 890 000 100 100 000 350 154 021, must be submitted.
•    (Annex-1) Agency Title Commitment Letter 
o    A commitment letter stating that a change can be made in the agency title if deemed necessary by the Ministry.

•    Personnel document required to be employed in a Travel Agency
o    At least one personnel with one of the following qualifications is employed in the headquarters and branches of the travel agency.
    On hotel management and tourism; The original or certified copy of the certificate of graduation belonging to persons who have completed vocational high school, associate degree or undergraduate education
    Information officer foreign language certificate of achievement
    The original or certified copy of the guide document issued by the Ministry
(Those who have an information officer certificate of achievement in C group travel agencies can be employed instead of personnel with the qualifications specified in the first paragraph.)
•    The SGK Job Entry Notification or the SGK Insured Service List of the legal entity of the applicant for the last period, showing that the personnel whose documents are submitted work within the company.
•    (Annex-3) Declaration Regarding the Employed Personnel
•    Travel Agency Information Update Form
•    (Annex-4) Trade Registry Newspaper Statement 
o    A statement including the date and number of the Trade Registry Gazette indicating the partners and managers for limited liability companies with the company contract, and the board of directors and authorized representatives for joint stock companies with the articles of association.

REQUESTED FORMS AND LETTERS

•    Annex-1 
•    Annex-2 
•    Annex-3 
•    Annex-4 
•    Travel Agency Information Update Form 
•    New Document Application Petition 
•    Sample Letter of Guarantee 
•    Signature Circles 
A document containing samples of the representative's signatures of a company or organization, either in original form or notarized copy. 
•    Trade Registry Certificate 
o    A certificate issued under Article 16 of the Trade Registry Regulation, which includes the MERSIS number, trade name, name and surname, place of residence and identification number of the owner of a sole proprietorship, the address of the company's headquarters and branches, the company's field of activity, the capital allocated to the company, and the individuals authorized to represent the company at the time of issuing the document. 
•    Guarantee 
o    In the case of a definite and indefinite letter of guarantee, the agency name and trade name must be stated. 
o    Guarantees other than letter of guarantees must be deposited into the account of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Central Treasury Directorate with the IBAN TR89 0000 1001 0000 0350 1540 21, or paid to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Central Accounting Unit through the accounting units of the general budgetary institutions in the provinces or districts (the original stamped and signed receipt must be presented). 
o    The sender's commercial name (no personal name should be included in any case) must be stated in the sender section of the receipt, and the agency name obtained from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism must be written in the explanation section.
• For Group A: 7,000.00 TL (Seven thousand Turkish Liras) 
• For Group B: 6,000.00 TL (Six thousand Turkish Liras) 
• For Group C: 5,000.00 TL (Five thousand Turkish Liras) and 25% of these amounts for each branch.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1.    What are the groups of travel agencies and what are their differences?

Travel agencies are divided into 3 main groups according to the services they provide: Group A Travel Agencies: They provide all travel agency services. Group B Travel Agencies: They provide international land, sea and air transportation. Group C Travel Agencies: They only organize domestic tours for Turkish citizens. Group B and C travel agencies cannot apply other travel agency services outside their services. However, they can perform the services that Group A travel agencies will provide them

2.    What is the registration fee and annual membership fee paid to the Union, and how are these amounts determined?

• The member registration fee and the annual membership fee shall be valid at the beginning of each calendar year and shall be increased by the revaluation rate determined and announced in accordance with the repeated Article 298 of the Tax Procedure Law No. 213 for that year.
• The member registration fee for 2024 is 359,476.83 TL. (The member registration fee is allocated once during membership procedures. It is non-refundable in case the business certificate is issued by the Ministry and membership to the Association is finalized).
• The annual fee for 2024 is 17,973.85 TL. (Including the year in which the operating certificate is approved by the Ministry, it is collected every year at the revaluation rate determined and announced in accordance with the repeated Article 298 of the Tax Procedure Law No. 213).
• TÜRSAB membership is finalized with the arrangement of the operating certificate by the Ministry. The year the certificate is issued is taken as basis in determining the membership fee.

3.    What are the deposit amounts to be provided under the Ministry's order?

The deposit amounts to be provided are as follows: 
-    For Group A travel agencies: 7,000.00 TL 
-    For Group B travel agencies: 6,000.00 TL 
-    For Group C travel agencies: 5,000.00 TL 
and a deposit of 25% of the aforementioned amount should be issued for each branch

4.    What are the Ministry account details to which the deposit amount should be made and what are the important points to consider regarding payment, in case the collateral is in cash?

If the collateral is in cash, the payment should be transferred from the company's account to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Central Finance Directorate account (account number: 350 154 021-9) at the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey Ankara Branch (IBAN NO: TR 890 000 100 100 000 350 154 021), with the appropriate title determined by the Ministry written in the explanation section. The transaction receipt with the stamped signature of the relevant bank must be submitted.

5.    At which stage of the business license application process can travel agency activities be started?

The status of being a travel agency is obtained by becoming a member of TÜRSAB and obtaining the business license issued by the Ministry. Therefore, travel agency activities carried out until the license is obtained are defined as "activities without a business license" according to the Law No. 1618, and there is a possibility of legal sanctions.

6.    How is the refund of the Membership Registration Fee, Annual Fee, and Collateral paid to TÜRSAB or the Ministry if the business license application is not approved by TÜRSAB or the Ministry?

If the application file is rejected, the Membership Registration Fee and Annual Fee paid to the Association will be refunded. To obtain a refund for the Ministry collateral, the applicant must apply directly for a refund.

7.    Who can submit the application file?

The application can be submitted by individuals authorized by the legal entity of the applicant. The person must present the relevant document regarding the authority during the application process.