President of Bodrum Hoteliers Association (BODER) Ömer Faruk Dengiz stated that neither he nor BODER made a such statement saying '238 hotels in Bodrum requested bankruptcy protection'.
The statement signed by BODER Chairman Ömer Faruk Dengiz reads as follows:
“In light of the speculative news and comments made using the Bodrum Hoteliers Association and my name, I felt it necessary to issue this statement.
The news in question discusses the bankruptcy protection requests of 283 hotels across Tüekiye and is supported by several tables. Despite no hotels in Bodrum being involved, some local news sites irresponsibly published comments that defamed Bodrum’s tourism industry and my name.
The report published in Ekonomim does not mention any hotels or companies from Bodrum or even the Muğla province. However, a commentator on a local Cypriot site falsely claimed that these concordat requests originated solely from Bodrum and made accusatory comments on social media. By disregarding the facts and exploiting Bodrum's name for personal gain, this site and its commentator have created a negative perception of Bodrum and the tourism sector.
Despite our warnings, this site has not removed the publication with its inappropriate and false headline. The site named Topuz Gazette chose this defamatory route even though the original source of the news did not mention Ömer Faruk Dengiz or the Bodrum brand.
To protect the rights of our Bodrum tourism stakeholders and correct public misconceptions, we will use our legal rights to demand the retraction of this news and an apology from those responsible.
During these challenging economic conditions and considering the sensitivities of the tourism sector, every responsible journalist and commentator should act with care. We want to announce once again that both the Bodrum Hoteliers Association and Ömer Faruk Dengiz have initiated legal actions against those acting otherwise.”