Injured on a package holiday in Türkiye: when the tour organiser answers for the hotel, the transfer and the excursion, and what the booking conditions cannot take away.

1. Is the Tour Organiser Liable If I Am Injured on a Package Holiday?

The direct answer. It can be. Under Article 51/8 TKHK, subject to the provisions of the Travel Agencies and Association of Travel Agencies Law No. 1618 on compulsory insurance, the package tour organiser (paket tur düzenleyicisi) is liable for every kind of damage (her türlü zarardan) that the consumer suffers because the contract was not performed at all or not properly. Article 13 of the Package Tour Contracts Regulation states the same rule for the organiser or the retailer (aracı) and, in its second paragraph, applies it where the breach arises from the conduct of an independent service provider such as the hotel or the coach company. Article 14 of the Regulation lists the cases in which the organiser or retailer cannot be held liable.

Who this guide is for. Travellers injured in Türkiye during a holiday sold as a package: transport and accommodation together, accommodation with excursions, or a tour with transfers and guiding. It covers the claim against the organiser and the retailer. The claim against the hotel itself, under the tort rules, is covered in our guide to hotel, resort and excursion accident compensation; an accident in a hired car is covered in our guide to tourist car rental accidents.

1. Whether your holiday is a package in the sense of Article 51/1 TKHK and the Regulation (section 2).
2. Who answers: the organiser, the retailer where the organiser has no representative in Türkiye, and the hotel or other provider on its own footing (section 3).
3. The defences and the limits on them: Article 14 of the Regulation and the ban on clauses that limit the organiser’s obligations in Article 18 (sections 4 and 5).
4. What to do and what can be claimed: reporting, assistance, heads of damage, the governing law, the court and the time limits (sections 6 to 9).

2. What Counts as a Package Tour Under Turkish Law?

The direct answer. Under Article 51/1 TKHK, a package tour contract is one in which a package tour organiser or retailer sells, or promises to sell, at least two of the following services together at an inclusive price, where the service covers a period longer than twenty-four hours or includes overnight accommodation: (a) transport; (b) accommodation; (c) other tourism services not ancillary to transport or accommodation. Article 51/2 adds that the article also applies where the details of the tour were set by the organiser, the retailer or the consumer, or where the services within the same package are invoiced separately.

What “other tourism services” means. Article 4/1(b) of the Regulation defines them as services not ancillary to transport and accommodation, such as car hire, tours of cultural, historical or tourist sites, the organisation of shows, concerts or sports activities or taking people to watch them, and guiding services. Whether a boat trip or a jeep safari sold with your holiday is part of the package is a question of what was sold together and at what price, and the booking documents are where that shows.

The name on the brochure does not decide. Under Article 2/1, the Regulation covers contracts made under the names package tour, package holiday, package travel or similar names. Under Article 2/2(b), it also applies to contracts arranged by an organiser or retailer in another country but offered for sale through a retailer or representative in Türkiye, and under Article 2/2(c) to contracts made with people who use the package in the course of their commercial or professional activity. Article 51/9 TKHK says that such people are also accepted as consumers.

The brochure binds. Article 51/4 TKHK and Article 5/1 of the Regulation require a pre-contract brochure. Under Article 5/3, the information in the brochure given to the traveller is binding on the organiser and the retailer. The brochure must include, where they are part of the package, the type, location, features and category of the accommodation (Article 5/2(c)) and information on the compulsory insurance under Law No. 1618 and any other insurance (Article 5/2(g)). Keep the brochure and every page of the offer: they show what was promised.

3. Organiser, Retailer and Hotel: Who Answers for What

The organiser. Article 4/1(e) of the Regulation defines the organiser as the person who arranges package tours and offers them for sale directly or through a retailer. Under Article 51/8 TKHK, it is the organiser that the Law makes liable for the non-performance or improper performance of the contract.

The retailer. Article 4/1(d) defines the retailer as the person who offers for sale package tours prepared by organisers. Under Article 51/3 TKHK and Article 17/1 of the Regulation, where the organiser has no representative in Türkiye, the retailer is liable as if it were the organiser. Article 13/1 of the Regulation names the organiser or the retailer as liable. Which of them you can sue on your facts depends on who sold you the package, who organised it and whether the organiser has a representative in Türkiye; Article 6/1(a) requires the contract to state the name, address and contact details of the organiser or retailer and of any representative, so the contract is the first place to look.

The hotel, the coach company, the boat operator. Article 4/1(a) of the Regulation calls them independent service providers (bağımsız hizmet sağlayıcısı): persons who provide one or more of the services in the package to the traveller under a contract with the organiser or retailer. Under Article 13/2, the liability rule in Article 13/1 also applies where the breach of contract arises from their conduct. A traveller injured because the hotel did not perform properly can therefore look to the organiser or retailer on the contract, subject to the cases listed in Article 14/1 (section 4).

The same idea in the Code of Obligations. Under Article 116/1 TBK, a debtor that leaves the performance of an obligation to auxiliaries, such as its employees, must make good the damage they cause to the other party while carrying out the work, even where it did so lawfully. The package rules in Article 13/2 of the Regulation speak directly of independent service providers.

Claims against the provider itself. The hotel or the transfer company has its own liability under the general rules. Under Article 49/1 TBK, a person who causes damage to another by a faulty and unlawful act must make it good, and under Article 50/1 the injured person bears the burden of proving the damage and the fault. Under Article 66/1, an employer must make good the damage its employee causes to others while carrying out the work entrusted to them, unless it proves the care Article 66/2 describes; under Article 66/3, an employer in an enterprise must make good the damage caused by the enterprise’s activities unless it proves that its working organisation was suitable to prevent the damage. A claim against the organiser and a claim against the provider are separate claims with separate requirements.

4. When Can the Organiser Avoid Liability?

The direct answer. In the cases Article 14/1 of the Regulation lists. Under that paragraph, the organiser or retailer cannot be held liable for damage arising from the non-performance or improper performance of the contract where the breach arises from: (a) the traveller’s own fault; (b) an unforeseeable and unavoidable act of a third party who is not involved in the performance of the contract; (c) force majeure (mücbir sebep); (ç) an event that the organiser, the retailer or the independent service provider could neither foresee nor prevent despite showing all necessary care; or (d) cancellation because the minimum number of participants was not reached, notified in writing or on a durable medium within the period in the contract and at least twenty days before the start of the tour.

Read the defences closely. Point (b) concerns a third party who is not involved in the performance of the contract; the hotel, the transfer company and the excursion operator providing the package services are independent service providers under Article 4/1(a), and Article 13/2 applies the liability rule to their conduct. Point (ç) speaks of an event that the organiser, the retailer or the independent service provider could not foresee or prevent despite all necessary care. Whether a particular event falls within one of these points is for the court, on the evidence.

Assistance even where there is no liability. Under Article 14/2, in the cases in points (b), (c) and (ç), the organiser or retailer and its local representatives must give prompt assistance (hızlı bir şekilde yardımda bulunmakla yükümlüdür) to a traveller who is in difficulty. Article 7/1(ç) requires the traveller to be given, before departure, the contact details of the organiser’s or retailer’s representative at the destination, or of local contact points, or other information allowing quick contact with the organiser or retailer. Use those details at once after an injury.

Compare the general contract rule. Under Article 112 TBK, if an obligation is not performed at all or not properly, the debtor must make good the creditor’s resulting damage unless it proves that no fault at all can be attributed to it. Under Article 114/1, the debtor is in general liable for every kind of fault.

5. Can the Booking Conditions Limit the Organiser’s Liability?

The direct answer. Not as regards the obligations arising from the Regulation. Under Article 18/1, terms in the contract or in any separate document by which the traveller waives the rights given by the Regulation, or which limit or remove the obligations of the organiser or retailer arising from the Regulation, are invalid (geçersizdir). A clause saying that the organiser is not responsible for the hotel, or that its liability ends at the airport, falls to be measured against this paragraph and against Article 13/2.

The general rule as well. Under Article 115/1 TBK, an agreement made in advance that the debtor will not be liable for its gross fault (ağır kusur) is absolutely void (kesin olarak hükümsüzdür). Article 116/2 TBK, by contrast, allows liability for the acts of auxiliaries to be removed wholly or partly by an agreement made in advance; Article 18/1 of the Regulation is a separate rule that covers the obligations arising from the Regulation.

Form and language of the contract. Article 6/1 of the Regulation requires the organiser or retailer to make a package tour contract and lists what it must contain, including force majeure situations and the rights and obligations of the parties in them (Article 6/1(f)). Under Article 8/1, contracts made in writing or at a distance, and the information given under the Regulation, must be in at least twelve-point type, in an understandable language, clear, plain and legible, and a copy must be given to the traveller on paper or on a durable medium. Ask for that copy if you do not have it.

6. On the Spot: Reporting, Alternative Arrangements and Getting Home

Report the problem. Under Article 12/1 of the Regulation, the traveller must report without delay (derhal) any shortcoming arising during the performance of the contract to the independent service provider or to the organiser or retailer. If the shortcoming is not remedied, the traveller is entitled to ask for a reduction of the price. Article 51/7 TKHK gives the consumer the right to ask for a reduction of the price for every kind of shortcoming arising during performance. Report in writing, and keep a copy.

Alternative arrangements. Under Article 12/2, where it is established after the tour has started that the organiser or retailer has not performed, or cannot perform, a significant obligation, it offers equivalent alternative arrangements at no extra cost to the traveller so that the tour can continue, and compensates the difference between the services offered and those provided.

Withdrawing from the contract. Under Article 12/3, the traveller may refuse the alternative arrangements and withdraw from the contract. The organiser’s or retailer’s right to claim the price then ends and the payments made are returned within fourteen days at the latest from the withdrawal, although the organiser or retailer may ask for an appropriate amount for the services already performed, in proportion to the benefit the traveller had from them. Article 51/7 TKHK says that the payments must be returned without delay (derhâl).

Getting home. Under Article 12/4, where the traveller withdraws, the organiser or retailer must arrange the traveller’s transport free of charge back to the place where the package began or to another agreed place, and must cover the costs incurred where accommodation becomes unavoidable. Article 12/4 applies where the traveller withdraws under Article 12/3; whether an injury brings Article 12 into play depends on what the organiser or retailer failed to perform. The assistance duty in Article 14/2 applies in the cases listed there.

Travel insurance information. Under Article 7/1(e) of the Regulation, if an optional insurance contract has been made covering cancellation costs or assistance costs, including repatriation in the event of accident or illness, the traveller must be informed of it before departure. Under Article 12(b) of Law No. 1618, travel agencies must inform the customer, when the package contract is made, that the costs of return to the point of departure in case of accident or illness, and losses and treatment costs arising from any accident, can be insured up to the policy limit. Check whether you took out such a policy.

7. What Can Be Claimed After an Injury?

The direct answer. Article 51/8 TKHK speaks of every kind of damage the consumer suffers because the contract was not performed at all or not properly, and adds that the consumer may also claim appropriate compensation for wasted holiday time (boşa harcanan tatil zamanı). Article 13/1 of the Regulation repeats both rules. Neither text sets an amount.

Bodily damage. Article 54 TBK lists bodily damage as including in particular: treatment costs; loss of earnings; losses arising from the reduction or loss of the ability to work; and losses arising from the impairment of economic future. The words “in particular” (özellikle) show that the list is not closed. Under Article 114/2, the provisions on liability in tort apply by analogy to breaches of contract, so these heads can be used in a claim on the package contract; how far is for the court.

Non-pecuniary damages. Under Article 56/1 TBK, where a person’s bodily integrity is harmed, the judge may, taking into account the particular circumstances of the event, award the injured person an appropriate sum of money as non-pecuniary damages (manevi tazminat). Under Article 56/2, in the case of severe bodily harm or death, an appropriate sum may also be awarded to the relatives of the injured person or of the deceased.

How the amount is fixed. Under Article 50/2, where the amount of damage cannot be fully proved, the judge determines it equitably, taking into account the ordinary course of events and the measures the injured person took. Under Article 51/1, the judge determines the extent of compensation and the manner of payment according to the circumstances and in particular the gravity of the fault. Under Article 52/1, if the injured person consented to the act that caused the damage, contributed to the damage arising or increasing, or aggravated the position of the person liable, the judge may reduce the compensation or remove it altogether.

The compulsory insurance. Article 51/8 TKHK and Article 13/1 of the Regulation keep in reserve the compulsory insurance provisions of Law No. 1618. Under Article 12(a) of that Law, travel agencies must insure, for package tours sold in Türkiye, their liability arising from the services promised to the customer not being provided, or not being provided as promised, for any reason including the agency’s bankruptcy; the insurer’s liability must be at least the price of the package, and the customer may claim the loss covered by the insurance directly from the insurance company. What the policy covers in a given case is a question of the policy and the facts.

8. Which Law Applies to a Foreign Tourist, and Where Is the Claim Heard?

The direct answer. It depends on where and how the package was bought. Under Article 26/1 of the Law on Private International Law and International Civil Procedure No. 5718 (MÖHUK), consumer contracts are governed by the law the parties chose, subject to the minimum protection the consumer would have under the mandatory rules of the law of the consumer’s habitual residence. Under Article 26/2, where no law was chosen, the law of the consumer’s habitual residence applies if the conditions listed there are met, for example where the other party or its representative received the consumer’s order in that country. Article 26/4 excludes from Article 26 transport contracts and contracts under which the service must be provided to the consumer in a country other than that of the consumer’s habitual residence, but it expressly excepts package tours from that exclusion, so package tours stay within Article 26.

What follows for a traveller. For a traveller who lives in Türkiye and booked with an agency in Türkiye, Law No. 6502 and the Regulation are the starting point. For a traveller who lives abroad and booked from home, Article 26 may point to the law of the country of habitual residence. Article 2/2(b) of the Regulation brings within its scope packages arranged abroad but sold through a retailer or representative in Türkiye; which law governs a particular contract with a foreign element is decided by the court under Article 26 MÖHUK.

The claim against the hotel. Under Article 34/1 MÖHUK, obligations arising from a tort are governed by the law of the country where the tort was committed. Article 34/3 applies the law of another country if the obligation is more closely connected with it, and under Article 34/5 the parties may expressly choose the governing law after the event. Under Article 34/4, if the law applicable to the tort or to the insurance contract allows it, the injured person may bring the claim directly against the liable person’s insurer.

Which Turkish court. Under Article 45/1 MÖHUK, in disputes arising from the consumer contracts defined in Article 26, the Turkish courts of the consumer’s domicile or habitual residence, or of the other party’s place of business, domicile or habitual residence, have jurisdiction at the consumer’s choice. Under Article 47/2, the jurisdiction of those courts cannot be removed by agreement of the parties. Under Article 73/1 TKHK, consumer courts (tüketici mahkemeleri) have jurisdiction over disputes arising from consumer transactions, and under Article 73/5 a consumer case may also be brought in the consumer court of the consumer’s domicile.

Before the court. Under Article 73/A/1 TKHK, for disputes heard in consumer courts, an application to a mediator before the case is filed is a condition of the action; the paragraph lists exceptions, including disputes within the remit of the consumer arbitration committees. Under Article 68/1, an application to a consumer arbitration committee (tüketici hakem heyeti) is mandatory for disputes below the monetary limit set in that article, which is increased each year under Article 68/4, and no application can be made above it.

9. Time Limits and Evidence

Tort. Under Article 72/1 TBK, a claim for compensation becomes time-barred (zamanaşımına uğrar) two years from the date on which the injured person learned of the damage and of the person liable to compensate, and in any event ten years from the date of the act. If the compensation arises from an act for which the criminal laws provide a longer limitation period, that period applies.

Contract. Under Article 146 TBK, unless the law provides otherwise, every claim is subject to a ten-year limitation period. Article 147 lists the claims subject to a five-year period, among them accommodation charges at hotels, motels, guesthouses and holiday villages. Which period governs a claim against the organiser, and when it started to run, is for the court. Diary the earliest date that could apply and act before it.

The rules side by side. The table sets out, for each route, what the text requires and what the text says about defences and time.

Practical steps after an injury on a package holiday

1. Get treatment and keep every record: the medical reports, prescriptions and invoices, because Article 54 TBK lists treatment costs as a head of bodily damage.
2. Tell the organiser’s representative at once, using the contact details you were given before departure (Article 7/1(ç) of the Regulation), and report the shortcoming in writing to the hotel or other provider as well (Article 12/1); keep copies.
3. Ask for an incident record from the hotel or the transfer company and read it before signing anything; note anything you disagree with.
4. Photograph the place as it was: the staircase, the pool edge, the vehicle, the lighting, any warning sign or the lack of one, with the original files and their dates.
5. Write down the names of the staff, the guide and other guests who saw what happened, with a way to reach them.
6. Keep the booking documents: the brochure or offer pages, the contract, the booking confirmation, the pre-departure information, the payment receipts and any insurance policy.
7. Keep a record of the holiday you lost: the days spent in hospital or in the room, the excursions you could not take, and the extra costs of an early or changed return.
8. Diary the earliest time limit that could apply under Article 72/1 TBK.

An injury on a package holiday raises one practical question first: does the person who sold the package answer for it. Under Article 51/8 TKHK, with the compulsory insurance provisions of Law No. 1618 reserved, the organiser is liable for every kind of damage the consumer suffers because the contract was not performed at all or not properly; under Article 13/2 of the Regulation, that rule also applies where the breach arises from the conduct of the hotel or another independent service provider; and Article 14/1 lists the cases in which the organiser or retailer cannot be held liable. Report the problem, keep the documents and diary the time limit.

Scope. This page describes the Turkish rules as in force in October 2026: Articles 51, 68, 73 and 73/A of the Consumer Protection Law No. 6502; Articles 2, 4 to 8, 12 to 14, 17 and 18 of the Package Tour Contracts Regulation (Official Gazette of 14 January 2015); Article 12 of the Travel Agencies and Association of Travel Agencies Law No. 1618; Articles 49 to 52, 54, 56, 66, 72, 112, 114 to 116, 146 and 147 of the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098; and Articles 26, 34, 45 and 47 of the Law on Private International Law and International Civil Procedure No. 5718. It does not describe the law of any other country, cancellation and price-change rules, criminal liability or air passenger rights. Each case turns on its own facts and documents.

Our page on personal injury compensation in Türkiye covers injury claims more widely; to discuss your own case, you can send the booking documents, the incident record, your photographs and your medical records on WhatsApp or to hello@restitora.com.