TÜROB President Müberra Eresin clarified the issue of the "hygiene certificate" that has recently appeared on social media and in the press...

Work on hygiene certification for tourism establishments is ongoing. Hygiene and food safety have always been very important for the accommodation sector. With the period we are now in, they have become far more important. The Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism has established a very comprehensive commission on certification. The Preparatory Committee, in which we at TÜROB also take part, includes, first and foremost, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, along with the Ministry of Health, members of the Scientific Advisory Board, officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Ministry of Trade, as well as the relevant public institutions and organizations and NGOs.

At TÜROB, our work together with TÜROFED and TURYİD on developing and broadening the draft Hygiene Practices protocol that we prepared for our members in the very first days when Covid-19 entered our agenda is continuing very intensively. We are consolidating our work on the Hygiene Certificate for Accommodation, Food and Beverage Establishments within the Preparatory Committee, working on details such as the drafting of protocols and training practices, and presenting our recommendations to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the other committee members. At the end of this work process, the principles of implementation will be determined.

All of this work is proceeding transparently under the supervision of the Ministry. We are pleased that the project has been expanded to include all of its stakeholders and that it is being carried out under the coordination of the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism. We firmly believe that it will make a major contribution to our sector going forward.

A great deal of information is being shared with the public on this matter, but the practices have not yet been finalized. We at TÜROB have only just completed our work. In the coming days it will be announced to the public in its final form by our Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Ersoy, and we will accordingly announce it to our members.

In conclusion, rather than relying on the news and commentary appearing on social channels and in certain media outlets, we recommend awaiting the official statement to be made on this matter by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.