Turkey's tourism sector will face mass layoffs due to the revocation of fire safety licenses resulting from the high workload of inspecting officials. This was reported by the Turkish newspaper Ekonomim, citing sources in the country's tourism industry.
Make It Before May 31
After the tragedy at the Kartalkaya ski resort, where 79 people died in a fire on January 21, Turkish authorities required hotels to confirm compliance with fire safety regulations. If a report is not submitted to the fire department, the hotel will lose its license and be closed.
Hotels are facing the problem that as the deadline for submitting reports approaches, the number of requests for inspections has increased, and many property owners are unable to complete them in time.
Representatives of the tourism sector told Ekonomim that they are not calling for the cancellation of inspections but are asking for licenses to be maintained for hotels that submitted applications by the deadline but did not pass the inspection due to the high workload on inspectors.
Tragedy at Grand Kartal
The fire at the Grand Kartal hotel, which resulted in the deaths of 79 people and injuries to another 51, occurred on the second floor. The fire spread to the upper floors, and guests were forced to jump out of windows or descend on laundry ropes.
Witnesses reported that the fire alarm did not go off in the hotel. Rescuers were unable to promptly begin extinguishing the fire due to the terrain.
In March of this year, hoteliers in Turkey began lowering prices amid a decline in demand from Europe. Due to the drop in tourist flow, discounts at several properties reach up to 50%.
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