Turkish hotels concerned with Booking.com ban
Booking.com was ordered by a Turkish court to stop listing hotels in the country after a case was brought by local travel agencies.
Turkey's independent hotels have expressed concern over a court ruling last week that has prohibited the accommodations-booking website Booking.com from operating in the country.
The travel website was ordered by a Turkish court to stop listing Turkish hotels in a case brought by local travel agencies.
Tour operators argued that the website created unfair competition for them.
The court ruling prompted the hoteliers to meet in the Turkish city of Bodrum on Tuesday to find a way forward.
They said the decision, which came months before the start of the busy summer season, will damage the already struggling tourism industry.
Some 13,000 Turkish hotels list their facilities on Booking.com, which is the world's largest online travel website with one million reservations per day.
Booking.com bags 20 percent of the earnings that a listed hotel makes from every room.
TRT World's Andre-Pierre du Plessis has more.