Antalya Tourism Transporters Take Action Against Pirate Transportation

Antalya Transporters in Tourism Sector on Strike

Drivers providing tourism transportation services in Antalya went on strike, claiming that Ukrainian and Russian citizens are engaged in pirate transport. Deputy Chairman of VIP Tourism Highway Passenger Transport Cooperative, Çınar Aslan, stated that foreign-plated vehicles are hindering their work, saying, ‘Foreign individuals coming to our country provide the service we offer to their own citizens through foreign-plated vehicles via telegram and WhatsApp groups. Frankly, they are selling transfers.’

Search for Solutions Against Pirate Transport

Approximately 200 citizens engaged in tourism transportation in Antalya organized a strike. Deputy Chairman of Antalya VIP Tourism Highway Passenger Transport Cooperative, Çınar Aslan, and President of Tourism Workers Union, Ümit Akduman, supported the drivers by sharing the problems they face in the sector.

Deputy Chairman of Antalya VIP Tourism Highway Passenger Transport Cooperative, Çınar Aslan, reported that foreign citizens communicate with tourists planning to visit Antalya through social media and the internet, obstructing their work. Aslan stated, ‘Antalya is the backbone of tourism in Turkey, and when tourists arrive in Antalya from abroad or domestically, they travel safely through transporters. Our transporter friends, who are affiliated with travel agencies, ensure the transportation of customers to hotels after reservations made from abroad. For the past 4 years, whether before or after the pandemic, after the Russia-Ukraine war, etc., foreign individuals coming to our country provide the service we offer to their own citizens through foreign-plated vehicles via telegram and WhatsApp groups. Frankly, they are selling transfers.’

• Çağrı Aslan, who expressed that they are in search of a solution to prevent pirate transport, demanded that anyone operating without a tourism transportation document be stopped.
• Aslan continued, ‘A Russian friend may have 200,000 followers in a telegram group, naturally, we are against a foreign individual doing this business in Turkey. Additionally, there are unauthorized, illegal foreign-based websites in Turkey. These websites sell transfers in Turkey. Besides that, there are many individuals selling without authorization in telegram and WhatsApp groups, and we do not want this. If we pay our taxes, conduct this business through official channels, have all our documents in order, we do not want anyone who does not operate legally. We will request a meeting from the Governor of Antalya and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism soon, and ask for help in closing these sites selling from abroad.’

Request for Government Support

President of Tourism Workers Union, Ümit Akduman, stated that authorized authorities need to take action for solving the problem, and said, ‘Tourism in Turkey is considered as a smokeless industry, with one leg being transportation. Being able to transport our guests from one place to another and ensure their return. However, within this context, there are the realities of life. There is a struggle they put up for the sake of their families, and there are problems within this struggle. If there is a problem, solving it somewhere will enable tourism workers to breathe.’

• Erkan Gözel, who is engaged in tourism transportation, demanded efforts to prevent illegal transportation. Gözel said, ‘There are unauthorized sellers, those without offices in Turkey, intermediaries who do not pay taxes and have no connection with our country. The infiltration of intermediaries and the reduction of prices they offer has brought the sector to this point. We want these to be regulated, the problem to be eliminated. The solution will come from our government again, we ask for support from them in this regard. We want these to be eliminated in any way and legalized, to be invoiced by our state, and to prevent those who engage in illegal activities. We also want to facilitate those who have documents, pay their bills properly.’