Website Guide for Foreign-Owned Tour Agencies in Kaş, Kalkan and Fethiye

This is a practical guide for tour agencies in Kaş, Kalkan and Fethiye with a British, German, Dutch or other foreign partner, covering what to think about when building a website. It looks at choosing languages and currencies, domain ownership, payment providers, the legal details the site should show and how to appear in local searches. It is general information only; always ask your accountant and lawyer about company structure, tax and regulation.

How the area works

Around Kaş, Kalkan and Fethiye, many tour agencies are run by a local and a foreign partner together. The foreign partner often speaks the guests' language, knows what they expect and brings in guests from their network back home. The local partner runs the boats, routes, permits and local relationships.

The website should reflect that. For guests, trust comes from feeling "this agency understands me"; for the authorities, it must be clear on whose behalf the site is selling.

Language: in what order?

British guests are the largest group in Kaş and Kalkan, and English also dominates around Fethiye, Ölüdeniz and Hisarönü. That is why English is the main language for most foreign-owned agencies in the area.

• English: Usually the main language. Write it directly in English rather than translating from Turkish.
• Turkish: Useful for domestic guests, hotels and partners, and the legal details.
• German, Dutch, Polish or Russian: Add them according to where last season's enquiries came from.

A half-translated language version makes a worse impression than none at all. If you add a language, the trip pages, cancellation policy and confirmation email should be complete in it.

Currency

British guests want to see prices in pounds, other Europeans in euros. Showing prices in the guest's currency speeds up the decision. Which currency you actually collect in depends on your payment provider and company structure, so settle that before the site is built.

Domain and account ownership

One of the most common problems we see in the area is a domain sitting in one partner's personal account, or even the account of whoever built the site years ago. When the partnership changes or that person cannot be reached, the site and email are at risk.

• Register the domain in the company's name, with a company email address.
• Keep the logins for hosting, email and payment accounts safely within the company.
• Give each partner their own user account in the panel; do not share one password.
• Add at least two managers to your Google Business Profile.

Payment providers

For agencies registered in Turkey, iyzico, PayTR or your bank's virtual POS are the usual options. Stripe does not serve companies registered in Turkey; if you have a company abroad, for example in the UK, it may be an option.

There is a legal and financial question before the technical one, though: which company sells the tour, which company issues the invoice, and which account receives the money? The answer depends on your company structure and the rules that apply to it. Ask your accountant and lawyer before choosing a payment provider; the website follows that decision rather than making it.

Details the site should show

For businesses operating as travel agencies in Turkey, the Ministry's regulation requires the operating license number and trade name on the home page and in the footer of every other page. We explain the details in our TÜRSAB license number article.

Sites usually also include:

• The full trade name, address and contact details of the company making the sale
• A privacy notice under Turkey's data protection law (KVKK) and cookie information
• Distance sales, cancellation and refund terms

Because your guests come from different countries, other countries' personal data rules may also come into play. Prepare these texts with your legal adviser; we make sure they appear in the right places and in every language.

Trust: the partners' story

In this area, the "About us" page is not a formality. A British guest will readily trust an agency run by a Brit who has lived in Kalkan for years together with a local captain.

• Real photos of the partners and the team
• A short, honest story of how the agency started
• The experience of your captains and guides
• A link to your Google reviews

Stock photos and generic phrases weaken that trust. The Kalkan Dive Centre site we built in the area also showed the team and dive sites with real images.

Showing up in local searches

Searches here are very local: "Kaş boat trip", "Kalkan private boat", "Fethiye 12 islands tour", "Ölüdeniz paragliding". A separate page for each trip, natural use of place names in titles and descriptions, and an up-to-date Google Business Profile are the basics. Separate pages for nearby routes such as Göcek, Patara and Kekova are worth considering too.

We bring online booking, multiple languages and multiple currencies together on our page about tour agency sites for Kaş, Kalkan and Fethiye.

Common mistakes

• Leaving the domain in one partner's personal account.
• An English-only site with no legal details at all.
• Choosing a payment provider without asking your accountant.
• All partners sharing one panel password.
• Stock photos on the "About us" page.
• Different prices or cancellation terms in different languages.

Summary

A foreign-owned agency's website brings two worlds together: a friendly face that speaks the guest's language, and a clear structure that follows Turkey's rules. Get language, ownership, payments and legal details right from the start and the site will serve you for years. Ask your advisers about company structure and tax, and get in touch about the website side.