CONTACT INFORMATION UPDATE, ONLINE SALES AND MARKETING CHANNELS

CONTACT INFORMATION UPDATE, ONLINE SALES AND MARKETING CHANNELS

• To update Travel Agency Contact Information;

If Travel Agencies wish to change the phone number, email address, or KEP address they previously provided, they can apply by filling out the relevant sections of the Travel Agency Information Form.

The form includes: Travel Agency title, company title, company KEP (Registered Electronic Mail Address), the company's UETS (National Electronic Notification System) address, at least one phone number and email address belonging to the Travel Agency, and a phone number that can be used to directly reach the company representative authorized to represent the Travel Agency in their capacity as the owner of the Travel Agency.

If this information, previously reported in our Associations's records, is not declared in the latest application, the old information will be deleted, but the mandatory fields will remain in the registry information if no new declaration is received, while all external records will be updated based on the latest application.

To update your contact information, please fill out the form below and send it digitally, stamped and signed by the authorized representative of the company, to the company email address acentasicil@tursab.org.tr or to the company KEP address tursab@ hs03.kep.tr. If you wish to deliver it physically, it must be delivered to our Head Office or Regional Representative Committees in person or by post.

To apply, simply submit the Travel Agency Information Update Form to our Association in the manner and form specified above.

• For the declaration or modification of Online Sales and Marketing Channels;

As is known, with the amendment made on January 14, 2021, to Article 4 of the Travel Agencies Regulation, the term “Online Sales Channel” was added, and the following provision was added to Article 17 of the same regulation: “The travel agency may promote, market, and sell its own or other travel agencies' services within the scope of their exclusive activities via online sales channels, provided that they are affiliated with the business premises specified in the first paragraph, for which a business license has been issued by the Ministry.” Furthermore, within the scope of the amendment made to Article 55 of the Regulation, it is stated that inspections will be conducted to determine whether the travel agency maintains the qualifications of its business premises for online sales channels.

In line with these amendments, it is important for our travel agencies to report the information of the online sales channels (website, social media accounts) they currently operate to TÜRSAB to ensure that the relevant inspections can be carried out properly and that the information is kept up to date in our Association's records.

For the Declaration of Travel Agencies' Online Sales and Marketing Channels, it is sufficient to fill in the relevant fields in the Travel Agency Information Update Form, in addition to the contact information.

If the form contains online sales and marketing channels, it must be sent digitally via the travel agency owner company's KEP address to tursab@hs03.kep.tr or the original form must be delivered directly to the TÜRSAB Headquarters or through the Regional Representative Councils.

Forms containing a declaration of online sales and marketing channels and sent to our Association via email are processed for the purpose of updating your information. However, it is the responsibility of the travel agency to deliver the original form to our Association as described above.

You can obtain a “Digital Verification Code” as an element of trust and credibility for the online sales and marketing channels you have declared, provided that the relevant page complies with the commitments stated in the “Travel Agencies Online Sales Channel Monitoring and Evaluation Record”. To include this code on your website, you must apply via https://www.tursab.org.tr/tr/dijital-dogrulama-sistemi.

Click here for detailed information about the DIGITAL VERIFICATION SYSTEM (DDS).

• How should online sales and marketing channels be?

As is known, the requirement that the title of Travel Agency be visible and distinguishable in the workplaces where Travel Agency activities are carried out is important in the eyes of consumers and stems from the provisions of the legislation.

Travel Agencies Regulation , the requirement to display the Travel Agency title and the sign bearing this title at the Travel Agency workplace is mandatory under the law.

With the amendment made to Article 4 of the same regulation on January 14, 2021, the phrase “Online Sales Channel” was added, and the following provision was added to Article 17: “The travel agency may promote, market, and sell its own or other travel agencies' services within the scope of their exclusive activities via online sales channels, provided that it is affiliated with the business premises specified in the first paragraph, for which a business license has been issued by the Ministry.” Furthermore, within the scope of the amendment made to Article 55 of the Regulation, it is stated that there will be an inspection to determine whether the travel agency maintains the characteristics of a workplace for online sales channels.

In this context, since the online sales channels through which travel agencies conduct their activities must be ‘Business Premises’ and the requirement in Article 17 regarding “the agency name being visible” also applies to online sales channels, your travel agency name must be clearly and visibly displayed on the online sales channels you use.

• How is the required affiliation element provided on the web pages declared by Travel Agencies as their online sales and marketing channel?

The concept of affiliation regarding the web pages used by travel agencies as their online sales channel is used to indicate the registration ownership of the web page's domain name. The domain name registration rights for the domain names of the online sales channels in question must be assigned to the travel agency's representatives and authorized signatories. If this is not possible, a letter of consent drawn up by the parties, stating that the rights to use the domain names in question have been transferred from third parties holding the registration rights to those domain names, must be submitted to our Association.

Accordingly, we remind you that travel agency activities carried out through online sales channels that have not been reported to our Association by submitting a notarized letter of consent stating that they belong to the relevant Travel Agency will be evaluated as being in violation of the legislation and professional principles of travel agencies.

If the domain names belong to third parties, you can access a sample consent form to be drawn up between the Travel Agency and the third party who owns the domain name below.

Annex - 1: Travel Agency Information Update Form
Annex - 2: Consent Form Regarding Domain Name Use