While global tourism companies which do not have offices in Turkey because their headquarters are abroad, generate billions of liras in revenue through their sales, San Francisco-based Airbnb leads the Turkish market. Tripadvisor, Agoda, Expedia (trivago) follow it respectively. global tourism companies selling accommodation and holiday packages in Turkey and domestic companies have taken action to pay taxes. Turkish companies and sector associations, on the other hand, have taken the issue to the relevant ministries many times, stating that the fact that foreign companies earning similar profits in the same sector are not subject to taxation like them distorts competition, but no concrete step has been taken yet. Local companies, which employ thousands of people and pay all taxes regularly, state that they cannot compete with foreigners in terms of price for this reason and that the conditions in the sector should be equalised. While the sales and turnover figures of global tourism companies are astonishing, only Airbnb recorded more than 3 billion Euros in revenue last year from its worldwide sales. The total number of overnight stays exceeded 120 million. The total value of the company is estimated at 30 billion Euros.Agoda, another player in the sector, is also part of Booking Holdings whose activities in Turkey were suspended in 2017. Tripadvisor, headquartered in Massachusetts, USA, and Trivago, owned by Expedia, are also known for their large sales and turnover figures. One of the markets where these companies are the strongest is Turkey. The market shares of giant companies in online tourism sales channels in Turkey are increasing day by day.Recently, it was announced that the taxation imposed on their income would be levied on those who rent rooms as a member of Airbnb, which was activated exclusively for people who sell through this channel. However, this regulation was not for top companies. Representatives of the tourism sector in turkey said the following in their statement on the subject:''In 2018-2019, some steps were taken regarding the taxation of the companies in question, and sector associations even filed a lawsuit. However, it is unclear what the process is. The tax imposed on Airbnb was misunderstood by the public. The issue is to tax those who earn income through this channel. Not the global intermediary.''
