The number of Turkish tourists to the Greek Islands has surged over the past few months following Greece’s launch of the visa-express program on April 1, 2024.
While the Greek tourism industry is benefiting from the influx of visitors from Türkiye, many hotel rooms in Turkish resorts are said to have “remained empty”, VisaGuide.World reports.
According to the Turkish press, tourism representatives in Türkiye have expressed concern about this situation, with some demanding the cancellation of express visas.
Data shows that Greek islands recorded a notable surge of Turkish visitors due to the express visa scheme. During the first ten days of April, islands such as Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Kos, and Rhodes combined welcomed 20,690 Turks.
Moreover, some images published by the Greek media days ago showed long lines of Turkish citizens in Ayvali waiting to board ferries headed to Lesvos.
On the other hand, Türkiye is experiencing a decrease in local tourism, according to Mustafa Demir, the Chairman of the TÜRSAB Regional Representation Board.
High prices in Bodrum have emerged as one of the reasons why Turkish citizens prefer Greek islands to spend their vacations.
Some Hotels in Bodrum Have Reduced Prices by Almost 50%, Tourism Representative Says
However, Demir revealed in a recent statement that many hotels in Borum have now lowered their prices. As cited by Mynet, he said that starting from the second half of July and including the first two weeks of August, resorts will reduce prices by almost 50 per cent.
Since fixed costs, such as electricity, personnel and hotel rents, are fixed, while other food, beverage and cleaning costs are variable, our hotelier colleagues made their calculations and made discounts so that at least the rooms would not remain empty, they could pay the staff and not lay them off.
Greece Introduced Visa On Arrival for Turkish Citizens on April 1st
On April 1, 2024, Greece launched visas on arrival for Turkish visitors, following an agreement between the two countries in December 2023.
Under this scheme, citizens of Türkiye are entitled to visit ten Greek islands with an express visa for up to seven days, one entry.
This scheme includes the islands of Lemnos, Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Leros, Kalymnos, Kos, Rhodes, Symi, and Kastelorizo.
The visa on arrival, priced at 60€, is available during all seasons and can be obtained at the designated ports.
As the Greek authorities warned in an earlier statement, this type of visa permits free entry only to the islands mentioned above and cannot be used to enter other Schengen countries.
