Grand Kartal Hotel, which became a tomb for 78 people, turns out to be illegal! Allegations that 'Minister Ersoy's company continued sales despite the ban'

While 78 people lost their lives in the fire that broke out at the Grand Kartal Hotel located in the Kartalkaya region of Bolu, striking facts about the hotel's legal status have emerged following the incident.   

THE HOTEL WAS ILLEGAL 

According to Tourism Ministry documents obtained by Cengiz Erdinç from Kısa Dalga, the hotel had lost its tourism certificate at least six months ago and had fallen into an "illegal" status, making it impossible for it to operate officially.

The fact that the hotel continued its operations despite being in an illegal status is based on Article 5 of the Tourism Encouragement Law, which was amended in 2021. According to the law, facilities granted a business opening and operating license by the Provincial Special Administration were required to obtain a tourism operation certificate from the Ministry within six months. However, the Grand Kartal Hotel did not fulfill this requirement.

ETS TUR CONTINUED SALES DESPITE THE MINISTRY'S BAN  

In an official letter sent to travel agencies on July 2, 2024, the Ministry of Tourism banned the promotion of hotels that do not have a tourism operation certificate.

 However, ETS Tur, of which Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy is a major shareholder, continued to advertise the hotel despite this instruction. Moreover, it continued to sell hotel rooms by using an invalid certificate number in the system.

ETS TUR CUSTOMERS WERE ALSO AT THE HOTEL ON THE NIGHT OF THE FIRE 

A total of 248 people were staying at the Grand Kartal Hotel on the night the tragedy occurred. It was determined that 11 of them had made reservations through ETS Tur. Following the fire, the Ministry of Tourism quickly deleted the hotel's registration from official systems.