Dutch-based online hotel booking platform Booking.com said on Thursday it would appeal a court decision made the previous day that banned its activities in Turkey.
According to a story on The Independent website, the Booking.com administration said it disagrees with an İstanbul court ruling to halt its activities and will appeal the decision.
“As an e-commerce company and technology provider, we firmly believe that we are contributing to healthy competition in the marketplace by providing Turkish consumers with a transparent and convenient platform to compare and book accommodation all over the world. We also drive valuable incremental business for more than 13,000 Turkish accommodation providers of all kinds throughout the country who partner with us and choose to list their properties on our platform,” Booking.com told The Independent.
The İstanbul 5th Commercial Court of First Instance decision came after the Turkish Association of Travel Agents (TÜRSAB) filed a complaint against the Dutch-based Booking.com claiming that the website is engaged in unfair competition against Turkish-based hotel and flight booking platforms.
According to the decision, Booking.com will not be able conduct commercial activities via its website Booking.com, and the Information Technologies and Communications Authority (BTK) is to be ordered to ban access to the website in Turkey.
Earlier, Turkey’s Competition Authority fined Booking.com TL 2,543,992.85 over TÜRSAB’s complaint.
Turkey’s relations with European countries, including the Netherlands, have been strained over their refusal to allow Turkish government officials to hold rallies there ahead of a public referendum in Turkey in April.