Turkey lifts ban on Booking.com, drafts law to restore OTA services

The Turkish government announced it will introduce a nine‑article law that removes the requirement for online travel agencies to have a local subsidiary in order to sell travel packages to Turkish residents. The measure ends a legal dispute that began in 2017 when courts ruled that Booking.com, based in Amsterdam, was operating illegally because it lacked a Turkish office.

The draft law is expected to pass parliament without major opposition, allowing Booking.com and other international OTAs such as Expedia and Airbnb to resume offering their full range of accommodation and package services to consumers in Turkey. The ban had not affected bookings made abroad for travel to Turkey, but it limited domestic Turkish users. The change aims to boost the Turkish tourism sector by restoring access to major digital distribution channels.