President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Monday evening that an accommodation tax cut introduced in April will be extended by one more year, and that employee support paid to hotels and other businesses licensed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism will continue until 2028. He made the announcements in an address after a cabinet meeting in Ankara that lasted about two hours, Yeni Şafak, Bloomberg HT and İstanbul Ticaret Gazetesi reported.
The accommodation tax is charged on overnight stays at hotels and other lodgings and is added to guests’ bills. Erdoğan did not give the rate that will apply during the extension, and none of the reports said when exactly the extra year will end.
Aliağa death toll rises to 16
Erdoğan opened with the explosion earlier on Monday at the HABAŞ iron and steel plant in Aliağa, İzmir. He said 16 people had died and 13 were injured, two of them seriously, according to Yeni Şafak, Ege Telgraf and Son Mühür. The figure is higher than the toll of 10 given by İzmir Governor Süleyman Elban in the afternoon.
Erdoğan said judicial and administrative investigations had been opened and that those responsible through negligence would be identified. He added that the interior and energy ministers had been sent to the site. Our report on the explosion has the latest details.
Exports and tourism figures
Erdoğan repeated October trade figures: exports rose 8.1% year on year to $25.9 billion, the third-highest monthly figure on record, and exports in January-October rose 5.5% to a record $236.8 billion, Bloomberg HT and Yeni Şafak reported. He said the annual goods and services export target of $410 billion for 2026 had been passed and that about $413 billion was expected. The October figures had already been announced by the trade ministry; see our October exports report.
On tourism, he said Türkiye received 49.13 million visitors in January-September and that tourism revenue rose 2.4% to $51.28 billion in the same period, according to Bloomberg HT and İstanbul Ticaret Gazetesi. Average stays were 10.34 nights and average spending per night rose 4.6% to $107.7, he said. Earlier quarterly data are in our tourism revenue report.
Energy and the fund investigation
Erdoğan said the Gabar oil field in Şırnak was producing 84,000 barrels a day from 184 wells, the same two outlets reported.
On the investigation into investment funds, which has led to a series of detentions of senior financial officials in recent days, Erdoğan said the matter was being followed closely and that there would be no concession, Bloomberg HT and Takvim reported. He gave no new details on the case; see our latest report on the fund investigation.
No pension increase was announced in the address, although several outlets had listed pensions among the expected topics before the meeting. For everyday costs, see our cost of living guide.
Sources
- Kabine sonrası önemli açıklamalar: Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan konuşuyor (Yeni Şafak)
- Erdoğan: Fon meselesinde en küçük bir taviz ve tavsama olmayacak (Bloomberg HT)
- Turizm sektörüne çifte müjde: Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan Kabine toplantısı sonrası açıkladı (İstanbul Ticaret Gazetesi)
- İşletmelere çifte müjde: Destek süreleri uzatılıyor (Yeni Şafak)
- Erdoğan acı bilançoyu açıkladı! Aliağa’daki patlamada can kaybı 16’ya yükseldi (Ege Telgraf)
- Aliağa’daki HABAŞ fabrikasında patlamada can kaybı 16’ya yükseldi! (Son Mühür)
- Başkan Erdoğan: Fon soruşturmasında en küçük bir taviz olmayacak (Takvim)
Photo: Ex13 / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
