OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIRMAN, FIRUZ BAĞLIKAYA, AND OUR PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT ADVISOR, NUMAN OLCAR, MET WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ASSOCIATION OF EUROPEAN TRAVEL AGENCIES AND TOUR OPERATORS

Our Chairman of the Board, Firuz Bağlıkaya, and our Principal Consultant, Numan Olcar, met with representatives of the European Travel Agents and Tour Operators Association (ECTAA) in Brussels.

In the meeting with ECTAA Board Treasurer Jan van Steen, Secretary General Eric Drésin, and Deputy Secretary General Christina Russe, the activities of Foreign Digital Travel Platforms in Europe were discussed. ECTAA officials stated that there are no general restrictions on the activities of these platforms; however, all actors, including local travel agencies, are subject to fair and equal conditions, and no privileges are granted to Foreign Digital Travel Platforms. They emphasized that practices that could lead to unfair competition against the local sector are closely monitored.

The meeting also addressed the issues of information security and personal data protection in the processes of collecting, processing, and storing users' personal data by Foreign Digital Travel Platforms, as well as the differences in practices between countries in the reclamation processes, with the aim of developing common and predictable standards.

The importance of facilitating the processes was emphasized, addressing the visa issues faced by our citizens traveling from Turkey to Europe through package tours organized by TÜRSAB member travel agencies.