24.01.2025 20:30
The Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, is making important statements during a live broadcast regarding the fire disaster in Bolu. Minister Ersoy stated, "Whether it is a tourism center or not, the authority to license and permit a building does not belong to the Ministry of Culture. If it is within the municipality's jurisdiction, it is with the municipality; if it is outside, it is with the provincial special administration. No institution other than the fire department can issue a fire safety certificate."
The Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, is making evaluations during a live television broadcast regarding the fire disaster in Bolu Kartalkaya, where 78 people lost their lives.
Minister Ersoy's statements are as follows:
"I extend my condolences to those who lost their lives in the disaster, and I wish a speedy recovery to our injured. This morning, I went to the scene with our Minister of Interior and we conducted examinations at the site. As the hours progressed, the situation began to clarify, and we held a press conference. After Bolu Mayor Tanju Bey made a statement to the press, I also found myself in a position to make a statement. I have two small children as well; people lost their lives, and their families lost everything. I did not want to go from channel to channel during such a painful process. In fact, I was going to wait a few more days, but I wanted to go on air and provide information about the process.
WHO HAS AUTHORITY IN TOURISM REGIONS?
In Kartalkaya, there are two authorities in tourism centers: the zoning authority and the hotel certification process. The provincial special administration is also responsible for the area boundaries. How was it before 2021? There were municipality-certified hotels and also Ministry-certified hotels. In other words, you obtain both a business license and a tourism operation certificate. Starting from 2021, we said, "tourism is growing rapidly, there should not only be municipality-certified hotels, but they should also obtain tourism authority from the ministry." Now, a municipality certificate is not sufficient; a ministry certificate is also required.
There is talk of a Reliable Tourism certificate. This was a certification we developed during COVID. It was a certification made in terms of health and hygiene. So, it has nothing to do with fire safety. You must obtain the necessary documents to open a business. They apply to the provincial special administration in Kartalkaya. Here, the 5th article is the fire report. It says you will get it from the fire department.
The only authorized institution here is the authorities. If there is no qualification in the district municipality, then it is the provincial municipality. For the business opening certificate in Kartalkaya, the fire certificate is issued by Bolu Municipality. Since you are within the borders of Bolu province, you cannot obtain it from another city. It must be from the fire department to which it is connected within the provincial borders. The institution that follows the business opening license is the Provincial Special Administration. Their compliance is checked, and if suitable, a license is granted.
When it comes to us, we send an inspector to the business. We check the tourism-related criteria during inspections. When we see the business opening report, we say "okay." We look at the qualifications of the business. The process passed to us in 2022; until 2022, the ministry had closed 100 facilities in a 40-year period. In 40 years, over 100 facilities were closed, and after 2022, 4380 facilities were closed. The authority for fire safety inspections is only with the fire departments. If a fire safety certificate is required, it must be obtained from their own fire department, even if it is outside the adjacent area."