The TBMM Kartalkaya Ski Resort Hotel Fire Investigation Commission convened

Making a presentation at the TBMM Kartalkaya Ski Resort Hotel Fire Investigation Commission, Alpaslan reminded that the first condition for all places such as dormitories, hospitals and hotels to operate is to obtain a business operating license from the authorized administration.

Stating that workplace operating licenses are issued by municipalities within the adjacent area and by special administrations outside the adjacent area, Alpaslan emphasized that a workplace operating license is a prerequisite for a facility to provide services in accordance with the safety of life and property, and that certain conditions and documents must be provided in order to obtain a license.

Alpaslan stated that the tourism business certificate is a qualification certificate given to tourism businesses during the operation phase, taking into account the type, class, capacity and personnel qualifications, and that businesses that cannot obtain a business opening and operation license from the authorized municipality or special provincial administration are not given a tourism business certificate.

Noting that the tourism operation certificate is not a document regarding the technical adequacy of the facility, such as zoning and fire safety, Alpaslan said, "The tourism operation certificate is a 'quality certificate' and is not sufficient to open and operate a hotel on its own."

Describing the inspections carried out by the Ministry on tourism accommodation facilities, Alpaslan said that the facilities were inspected on many issues by the Ministry officials and reports were prepared.

Alpaslan said, "If our evaluations indicate any problems with the operation of the facility, we recommend that the situation be reported to the authorized administration that issues the workplace operating license and that the necessary action be taken. Although we make the closure recommendation, the authority to close it lies with local governments."

Alpaslan also shared examples of practices regarding the certification and inspection of accommodation facilities in countries where tourism is intense and with which Turkey competes.

Alpaslan, who pointed out the importance of precautions to be taken to prevent similar incidents from happening again, said, "We believe that in all facilities that are given a fire competence certificate or workplace competence certificate, these documents should be given for a certain period of time and updated and inspected when they expire, in order to prevent such incidents from happening again."

FROM THE PRESENTATION

In the presentation made by Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Alpaslan, it was stated that Kartalkaya Region is within the authority and responsibility area of ​​Bolu Provincial Special Administration since it is outside the borders of the municipality's adjacent area, and that the business and operation license of Grand Kartal Hotel was first given by Bolu Provincial Special Administration in 2007 and was re-issued by the same administration in 2015.

It was noted in the presentation that the administration authorized to issue a business opening and operating license decides whether a facility can be an accommodation facility, and only the type and class of the accommodation facility is determined by the Ministry, and the following was stated:

"There are many regulations that a hotel must comply with, such as zoning regulations, environmental regulations, fire protection regulations, tax regulations, occupational health and safety. The compliance with the rules in these regulations is inspected by the relevant public institutions and organizations. Article 30 of the Tourism Encouragement Law defines the inspection authority of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on hotels as 'conducting inspections of businesses requesting a certificate, inspections regarding the qualifications of certified investments and businesses, and classification of businesses'. According to Article 18 of the Regulation on the Inspection of Tourism Investments, Businesses and Organizations, the Ministry has the authority to determine and inspect cleanliness, order, service, price, administration and operation, qualifications that form the basis of obtaining a certificate, and personnel qualifications in certified tourism businesses. Inspections regarding health and environmental pollution are conducted by physicians and health personnel of authorized public institutions and organizations, and inspections regarding business opening and working licenses are conducted by the public institution that issues the business opening and working licenses.

As can be seen, issues requiring expertise such as fire, food inspection, pool water hygiene, noise insulation, and elevator certification are under the authority of the relevant institutions, and our Ministry's inspection officers are not under the scope of duty and authority, and they do not have any competence in these matters. The existence of a business opening and operating license is an indication that the necessary inspections and audits have been carried out by the authorized bodies according to their own legislation and that it is technically competent. As can be understood from here, the tourism business certificate is not a document related to the technical competence of the facility, such as zoning and fire safety, but is a quality certificate and is not sufficient to open and operate a hotel on its own.

ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS HAVE BEEN IMPOSED ON THE FACILITY 5 TIMES

In the presentation, it was stated that during the inspections carried out by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in accommodation facilities, the facility is examined for having spaces that are large enough for its intended use, whether the tourism facility will continue to be classified as 3, 4, 5 stars, whether the service provided is qualified and the facility is clean and well-maintained, whether the minimum requirements for general areas such as restaurants, SPA, lobbies and bedrooms are met, whether the number of rooms is appropriate according to their type and class, whether there is a change in the capacity specified in the tourism document, personnel qualifications and quality elements for determining the type of facility.

In the presentation, it was stated that every tourism business certificate issued by the Ministry is sent to the authorized administration that issues the business opening and operating license, and that "If any changes are made or cancellations are made within the framework of the relevant legislation regarding the business opening and operating license submitted during the certification phase, it is requested to be notified to our Ministry immediately."

In the presentation, information, documents and findings regarding the inspection process and activities of the Grand Kartal Hotel, where the fire incident occurred, were also provided. Accordingly, it was reported that administrative sanctions were imposed on the facility 5 times in line with reports containing administrative sanction recommendations due to irregularities detected during inspections conducted by the Ministry controllers at the Grand Kartal Hotel.

In the presentation, it was stated that a proposal was made to update the tourism operation certificate for various reasons upon the letter of the General Directorate of Forestry as a result of 3 separate inspections carried out in 2021, and it was noted that in the inspection carried out upon the complaint regarding the chairlift on September 13, 2024, a warning and administrative fine were imposed due to various deficiencies, and on January 23, 2025, the cancellation of the certificate was proposed upon the letter of the Provincial Directorate following the fire.

CLOSED FACILITIES

In the presentation, the following information was given regarding the work carried out by the Ministry after the fire:

"According to the Tourism Encouragement Law, accommodation establishments that are granted a business and operating license by the authorized administration are required to obtain a tourism business certificate from our Ministry within six months from the date they receive this license, and accommodation establishments that fail to obtain this certificate within the legal period cannot operate. In this context, we have instructed the 81 Provincial Governorships with 7 separate letters written at different times since the date the Law came into force to terminate the activities of accommodation establishments operating off the record without a license, and to terminate the activities of accommodation establishments that fail to obtain a tourism certificate within the due period by cancelling their business and operating licenses.

As a result of the Ministry's work, a total of 6,207 accommodation establishments have been terminated by local administrations across the country, and these works have been carried out intensively since the end of 2022, regardless of the fire. However, it has been communicated to our Ministry that an intensive inspection study was started after the fire, in coordination with both governorates and municipalities, and deficiencies were detected in many facilities and closure sanctions were imposed. While approximately 100 facilities with missing documents were closed by local administrations upon the notification of our Ministry in the last 40 years before 2022; in the approximately 3-year period from 2022 to January 2025, the number of facilities closed by the authorized administrations out of the facilities notified by our Ministry is 4,380. The number of facilities closed in 1 month as a result of inspections carried out by the relevant administration after January 21, 2025 is 1,827.

Following Alpaslan's presentation, the MPs also made evaluations and shared their opinions and suggestions in the commission.