Tourism Social Security Support Excludes 14,000 Facilities, Cuts Cost from 12 Billion to 5.4 Billion Lira

The government's Social Security premium support law for the tourism sector, designed to curb layoffs, provides support of up to 3,500 lira per employee monthly. However, once the implementation rules were determined, it became clear that approximately 14,000 Simple Accommodation Certificate businesses — representing 64 percent of Turkey's 21,420 accommodation facilities — were excluded from the scope.

This distinction was made despite the fact that there is no practical difference in implementation between the two certificate types issued by the Tourism Ministry. According to industry representatives, this decision was a deliberate last-minute choice; in this way, the total cost was reduced from 12 billion lira to 5.4 billion lira. Only 7,700 Tourism Business Certificate facilities can benefit from the support. The law, which covers the May-December 2026 period, provides no benefit to the 14,000 excluded facilities.