Editorial Inclusion Policy

1. Why this policy exists

Explore Lycia is an independent travel directory. To be useful to travellers, our directory has to be reasonably complete — listing only the operators who have paid us would mislead readers about what’s available on the Lycian coast.

That’s the same principle a Lonely Planet guide, a Time Out city guide, or a Tripadvisor category page operates under: the publication describes establishments that exist and are publicly known to operate, regardless of any commercial relationship with the publisher. This is recognised as editorial fair use of business names and is well established in international travel publishing.

This policy explains how we apply that principle, what protections operators have, and how to interact with us if you’re an operator who appears in our directory.

2. The two ways an operator can be listed

There are two distinct paths by which a business appears on the platform:

2.1 Editorial listing (free)

We may add an operator under our Editorial Tier without their prior agreement, provided they meet our inclusion criteria (clause 3 below). Editorial listings show:

• The operator’s public business name and category
• A brief, factual description sourced from publicly available information
• Languages spoken (where publicly stated)
• Indicative price band (where publicly stated)
• A lead-capture button that forwards an enquiry to the operator’s contact email

Editorial listings deliberately hide:

• Direct phone, WhatsApp, or website links
• Photo galleries
• Long-form descriptions
• The "Listed" or "Featured" verification badges

2.2 Paid listing (subscription)

An operator can claim or upgrade their listing at explorelycia.com/list-your-business. Paid tiers (Listed and Featured) reveal the hidden information above and add ranking benefits described in our Operator Listing Terms.

3. Editorial inclusion criteria

For an operator to be listed under the Editorial Tier, all of the following must be true:

1. Public existence: the operator has a publicly accessible web presence (own website, Facebook page, Instagram, or established Tripadvisor presence) demonstrating they are an active business.
2. Geographic relevance: they operate within the area Explore Lycia covers (currently the southwest Turkish coast from Féthiye to Antalya).
3. Category relevance: their service is one we cover (paragliding, sailing, diving, hiking, accommodation, transport).
4. Visible operating evidence: reviews, news mentions, or social-media activity show recent operation (within the past 12 months).
5. No known unresolved safety concerns: we are not aware of credible, public, unresolved reports of serious safety failure.

If we are uncertain about any criterion, the default is to not list. We do not seek to be exhaustive; we seek to be useful.

4. What we don’t do

To preserve editorial integrity and stay within fair-use principles, we do not:

• Use any operator’s logo, photography, or other proprietary visual brand assets in their editorial listing without permission
• Claim or imply that an editorial-tier operator endorses Explore Lycia, has paid us, or is affiliated with us
• Disparage, denigrate, or write negative editorial about any operator (we either list them factually, or we don’t list them)
• Take payment from any third party to remove a competitor’s editorial listing
• Penalise operators in our search ranking for not paying us beyond placing paid tiers above unpaid ones in the default sort

5. The visible difference between tiers

All editorial-tier listings carry a small "Operator? Claim this listing →" prompt linking to our signup page. We do not hide this; the upgrade path is open and self-serve.

6. How an operator claims an editorial listing

Three options:

1. Self-serve: visit explorelycia.com/list-your-business, choose a tier (including the free Editorial Tier with full claim), and submit your details. We merge your information into your existing listing within 24 hours of receiving payment (for paid tiers) or your application (for the Editorial Tier).
2. Click your "Claim this listing" link on the operator card — it pre-fills your slug into the signup form.
3. Email us at operators@explorelycia.com from a domain matching your business’s public web presence. We’ll verify and process the claim.

7. Removal requests

Removed operators may request to be re-listed at any time by signing up at explorelycia.com/list-your-business.

7.1 Edge cases

• Disputed identity: if multiple parties claim the same listing, we will pause the listing pending evidence of legitimate ownership (typically a domain match, business registration certificate, or licence in the claimant’s name).
• Defunct operators: if a listed business has clearly ceased trading (no website, no recent reviews, public closure notice), we will remove the listing on becoming aware.
• Acquired or rebranded operators: we will update the listing on request from the new owner with proof of ownership transfer.

8. Editorial corrections

If our editorial listing of your business contains a factual error, email operators@explorelycia.com. We aim to correct verified errors within 7 working days. Material errors (wrong category, wrong location, wrong contact channel) are corrected within 48 hours of verification.

9. Why we sort paid tiers above editorial

Paid tiers fund the directory’s operation. Sorting them above unpaid editorial-tier listings is the value exchange we offer subscribing operators — visibility in return for the subscription fee. We disclose this openly:

• The sort order is labelled "Featured" in the UI, not "Best" or "Recommended"
• Tier badges (✓ Listed / ★ Featured) are visible on the cards, so readers can see the commercial relationship at a glance
• Editorial listings remain fully present, indexable, and findable — they are not penalised, only ranked below paid tiers in the default sort
• Other sort options (price, rating) ignore the tier ranking entirely

This is the standard model used by Tripadvisor (Sponsored Listings), Booking.com (Featured Properties), Yelp (Yelp Ads), and most directory-based travel publications. Calling out the difference openly is what distinguishes editorial fair-use from disguised advertising.

10. Conflict of interest disclosure

10.1 Explore Lycia’s revenue comes from operator subscriptions only. We do not take commission on bookings made through the directory. We do not earn affiliate revenue from operators we list. Where we may earn affiliate revenue from third-party services (e.g. travel insurance, hotels), this is disclosed at the point of recommendation.

10.2 The owner of Explore Lycia (Pixelo Mobile Ltd) does not currently hold a commercial interest in any of the operators listed in the directory. If that ever changes, the listing will be flagged with a "[Owned by us]" disclosure.

11. Complaints about an operator

If you’ve had a poor experience with an operator listed on the platform, please email us at hello@explorelycia.com with the details. We log all complaints. While we cannot adjudicate individual disputes (we are not a party to your contract with the operator), patterns of credible complaints can lead us to:

• Suspend the operator’s paid tier privileges (revert to Editorial)
• Add a factual editorial note to the listing where appropriate (rare)
• Remove the listing entirely if there is evidence of serious safety failure or systematic deception

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. Material changes will be published with a new "Last updated" date and flagged in the operator dashboard for at least 14 days before taking effect.

13. Contact

Operator-side questions: operators@explorelycia.com
Customer-side questions or complaints: hello@explorelycia.com