Amendments Were Made to the Tourist Guiding Profession Law and the Law on Travel Agencies and the Association of Travel Agencies

The highlights of the key amendments made under the Law are as follows:

• Associate degree programs of tourist guidance departments of universities have been included among the admission requirements of the tourist guide profession, and tourist guidance training to be received by graduates of other departments will also be provided by specialized public institutions and organizations.
• The Law stipulates that the requirements for admission to the profession will include obtaining at least 75 points in the Foreign Language Proficiency Examination (“YDS“) conducted by the Measurement, Selection and Placement Center (“ÖSYM“) within the last five years or having a foreign language proficiency certificate equivalent to this score in international foreign language exams accepted by ÖSYM as equivalent to YDS. Applicants who fulfill the other conditions and do not submit a YDS exam certificate will be eligible to become regional or national Turkish tourist guides.
• Candidates who are proficient in Far Eastern languages, especially Chinese, which will be determined by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (“Ministry“) in line with the cultural and tourism policies in order to meet the tourism potential of Türkiye, and candidates who have graduated from art history and archaeology departments of universities at undergraduate level will not be required to attend a tourist guide training program.
• The commission of crimes against the signs of sovereignty and the dignity of its organs has also been added to the list of disqualifications to work as a tourist guide.
• An administrative fine from twenty-five thousand Turkish Liras to one hundred thousand Turkish Liras will be imposed by the relevant local administrative supervisor on those who provide guidance services without a license, taking into account the number of people served and the characteristics of the region.
• During the provision of tourist guiding services, tourist guides who, without the knowledge and consent of the recipients of this service, provide any benefit to themselves or to the person they will direct in return for being sent to a certain business for shopping purposes, will be imposed an administrative fine from twenty-five thousand Turkish Liras to one hundred thousand Turkish Liras by the relevant local administrative supervisor. Those who commit the mentioned action twice within the last five years will also be sentenced to temporary prohibition from the profession, and those who commit the said action three times within the last five years will be sentenced to dismissal from the profession. In cases where national security, public order, preventing the commission or continuation of a crime, or arrest are required, the bodies of unions and chambers may be prohibited from operating by the Ministry if there is an inconvenience in delay.
• The Ministry’s authority to inspect professional organizations and their affiliates has been revised to be mandatory every three years at the latest.
• With the Law, the members of the bodies of professional organizations and their personnel will be sanctioned as if they were public officials for their criminal offenses and actions in the performance of their duties. In this regard, the personnel of the professional organization against whom a prosecution is initiated or who are deemed inconvenient to remain in office in terms of the inspection conducted may be temporarily suspended by the Ministry for three months upon the proposal of the Ministry inspector. Those who have been suspended will return to their duties during the inspection or after the completion of the inspection by the decision of the Ministry, or if a decision of non-prosecution is made against them or if they are not convicted.
• Those who have a guide identity card are required to register with the chamber and apply for a license within one year by meeting the requirements.
• In the event that travel agencies provide benefits to themselves or the person they direct in return for sending their customers to a business for shopping purposes without their knowledge and approval, the travel agency business certificates will be cancelled and these agencies will not be able to operate as travel agencies for five years.

You can access the full text of the Law, which entered into force on the date of its publication, through this link.