Eray Erdem became the voice of Alanya once again.

Eray Erdem, President of the Alanya Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ALTSO), spoke at the Economic Council hosted by TOBB under the auspices of Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and attended by five ministers, raising Alanya’s problems and demands.

The TOBB Turkey Economic Council, coordinated by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and hosted by TOBB President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, was attended by chamber and stock exchange presidents as well as the Ministers of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek, Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Labor and Social Security Vedat Işıkhan, Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı, and Trade Ömer Bolat.

At the meeting where the pulse of the national economy was felt, ALTSO President Eray Erdem was among the select speakers. In his speech, Erdem emphasized that hotel operators should also benefit from the 3% foreign exchange conversion support granted to companies bringing foreign currency from abroad, and stated that necessary regulations should be made to remove obstacles to this issue. He pointed out that hoteliers, together with agencies, have a significant share in bringing foreign currency directly from abroad.

Erdem also raised the long-standing residency issue in Alanya, saying, “Especially in tourism regions like Alanya, where different cultures live together, residency restrictions should be applied at the provincial level, not on a neighborhood basis.” Regarding difficulties related to the new Fire Regulation, Erdem said, “We conveyed our solution proposals to the authorities such as conducting inspections gradually and within reasonable timeframes, providing technical and financial support to businesses, and considering fire safety supply times and regional conditions.”

Addressing the VAT problem in the service sector, Erdem conveyed the region’s demands, stating, “Despite low VAT rates on purchases in the service sector, accommodation is under a total tax burden of 12% with 10% VAT and 2% accommodation tax.” He renewed the request for balancing the rates by considering the VAT input-output difference.

Touching on the negative effects of increased supply over demand in the tourism sector, the ALTSO President noted, “We emphasized at the meeting that a serious bed supply has emerged in recent years in tourism-season limited areas like Alanya. Tourism incentives should be directed not toward newly opened businesses but toward the renovation of existing facilities to improve quality. We reiterated that the sector needs renovation of existing facilities more than new bed supply. While raising Alanya’s main issues at this important meeting, we also communicated our demands, opinions, and suggestions to relevant bureaucrats in one-on-one meetings.”