Express visa boosts Turkish visitors to Greece
Roughly 340,000 Turkish citizens and Europeans of Turkish descent visited the islands of the north Aegean for their holidays in 2024, according to figures released by the General Police Directorate of the North Aegean.
Out of a total of 339,985 visitors recorded in 2024, 71,648 took advantage of the seven-day “express visa” available to visitors coming from the Turkish coast, while the vast majority visited Lesvos, Chios and Samos.
This visa began to apply in April 2024 following an agreement between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“It was an agreement that gave wings to relations on both sides of the Aegean and allowed the development of this major wave of Turkish tourists from the Turkish coast to the islands,” said the general secretary of the Union of Tourism and Travel Agencies of Lesvos, Aris Lazaris.
Kathimerini
