Türkiye’de Otelciliğin Tarihi – Geçmişten Günümüze

History of Hotel Management in Turkey – From Past to Present

Hotels have become an integral part of our daily lives. Especially when it comes to vacations, there are hundreds of options ranging from the most budget-friendly to the most luxurious. In the early years of the Turkish Republic, hotels were few in number and far below today’s standards in terms of quality. However, driven by the high expectations from tourism revenue, hotels have continued to develop steadily. Today, hotels are a key component of the tourism sector, one of the driving forces of Turkey’s economy. In this article, we examine the history and development of hotels in Turkey, starting from historical research and moving to present-day data. Let’s take a closer look at the evolution of Turkish hotels.

History of Hospitality in Turkey – Seljuks
To conduct a historical analysis of the hospitality sector in Turkey, it is necessary to start with the Seljuk period. The Seljuks, inheriting the legacy of the Byzantines, laid the socio-cultural foundations of modern Turkey. Historical records from the Seljuk era indicate the presence of caravanserais, which were the precursors to modern hotels.

Anatolia was a region of critical commercial importance, and the Seljuks adapted the Arab caravanserai culture to meet the lodging needs of the caravans passing through. Caravanserais, considered the starting point of hospitality in Anatolia, were built extensively along trade routes, roughly every 30 kilometers—the typical distance a caravan could travel in a day.

Seljuk architecture, known for its distinctive style, manifested not only in mosques but also in caravanserais. For instance, as mentioned in our previous article on Alarahan, after capturing Alara Castle, the Seljuks converted it into a caravanserai. Since the economic development of a country is closely linked to the facilities it offers to local and foreign traders, the Seljuks placed great importance on lodging in the newly acquired region of Anatolia.

These caravanserais offered free accommodation for travelers and their animals. Many of them, now in ruins, still stand in Anatolia. Some were also built near key port cities like Antalya and Sinop to support maritime trade. The state provided guarantees against theft or damage to traders’ goods. These approaches show that commerce was the primary driver of hospitality in Turkey during the Seljuk period.

Caravanserais were far from simple structures. Many included small shops for services such as shoemaking, tailoring, barbering, and baths, much like the auxiliary services seen in today’s 5-star hotels. They often resembled fortresses from the outside, housing hammams, mosques, storage facilities, and repair workshops, forming the foundational “hospitality DNA” of the region.

History of Hospitality in Turkey – Ottomans
Following the Seljuk period, the caravanserai culture continued under the Anatolian Beyliks, and new structures were built. After the unification of Anatolia under the Ottoman Beylik and the establishment of the Ottoman Empire, caravanserais appeared under the name Han.

However, historically and in the international context, the Ottomans were not as successful as the Seljuks in this regard. The purpose of the hans remained similar: providing free lodging to caravans and traders. Until the 1700s, tourism as a sector did not exist; the focus was on trade.

As the Ottoman Empire gained institutional stability, new alternatives on world trade routes encouraged Western development in hospitality. The Ottomans focused investments on cities such as Edirne, Bursa, Istanbul, and prince cities like Manisa, Amasya, Trabzon, and some parts of Konya. The development and spread of hans were limited by these factors. Today, many of these historical hans can be seen in Istanbul’s historical peninsula. They served as lodging for merchants, and centers for business and local trade.

Modern Turkish hotel foundations were laid in the late 1800s, during the final period of the Ottoman Empire. At this time, organized tourism trips began in Europe, and alongside trade-related travel, group leisure travel created the need for a new hotel concept.

In 1863, the Sergi-i Umum-i Osmani exhibition brought tourist groups from Europe to Istanbul. In the 1860s, the Auberge hotel in Edirne offered rooms furnished differently from traditional han architecture, along with food services. In Istanbul, hotels opened by Greek and Armenian families in Pera (modern Beyoğlu) increased after the 1870 launch of the Orient Express from Paris to Istanbul. In this sense, the Ottoman period marks the transition from traditional hans to Western-style hotels in the late 1800s. Therefore, the foundation of Turkey’s tourism sector was formed in Beyoğlu in the late 19th century.

History of Hospitality in Turkey – Republic of Turkey
After World War I and the Turkish War of Independence, the newly established Republic of Turkey began its tourism activities based on the Ottoman legacy. The new Republic invested heavily in railways, while Istanbul remained the primary tourism hub for a long time. The Seyyabın Cemiyeti, established by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, managed the country’s tourism policies until 1934.

In terms of hotels, the private sector lacked power, so significant development did not occur until 1957, when tourism investments were carried out through the Turkish Office (Türk Ofis). Historical hotels such as Tarabya Hotel, Pera Palas, and Ankara Palas date back to this period. Many valuable hotels were also constructed by the Pension Fund (Emekli Sandığı). The Ministry of Tourism was established in 1957.

World War II and subsequent political and economic challenges in the 1960s and 1970s slowed the development of the tourism sector. Insufficient transportation infrastructure hindered the development of Turkey’s Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, which had the greatest potential for local and foreign tourists.

The history of Turkish hospitality saw a major leap after 1980, thanks to private sector investments and state incentives. The key difference was the government recognizing tourism as an important tool in economic policy.

Modern Hotel Statistics in Turkey (as of July 2, 2018, TÜRSAB data)

Ministry-Licensed Facilities: