Boom in Turkish tourists on Greek islands with ‘express’ visa

(ANSA) – ATHENS, APRIL 12 – The Greek islands off the coast of Anatolia are recording a surge in visits by Turkish tourists thanks to the so-called “visa express” system, a tourist visa reserved by Greece for citizens of Turkey. Data released by Kathimerini show that visits in the first ten days of this month even tripled, compared to the same period last year, in some islands easily reachable by ferry. The island of Lesbos, for example, recorded 3,800 visits compared to 390 the previous year. Arrivals also increased in the other islands off the Turkish coast that were involved in the “visa express” experiment, namely Chios, Samos, Kos and Rhodes. In total, arrivals on these islands reached 20,690 compared to almost 6 thousand visits last year. The tourist visa is valid for seven days, costs 60 euros and can be issued at any time of the year. Eligible visitors cannot leave Greece and travel to another destination. From next April 30th the program will also be extended to the islands of Limnos, Leros, Symi, Kalymnos and Kastellorizo. The agreement on the visa was reached after a four-month consultation, which began last August, between the Greek Immigration Minister Dimitris Kairidis and the European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson. At the beginning of December the EU commission had given the green light, and the “visa express” initiative was confirmed by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during his meeting in Athens with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. (HANDLE).