The express visa program has brought a total of 54,373 additional Turkish tourists to the Northeast Aegean islands since its implementation.
Under the program, tourists from Turkey receive entry visas upon arrival at the islands’ ports.
Of these, 21,987 visas were issued for arrivals to Lesbos, 19,623 for arrivals to Chios and 12,763 for arrivals to Samos.
According to an announcement by the General Directorate of the North Aegean Police, the islands were visited by a total of 372,495 tourists from Turkey, of which 254,213 were Turkish citizens. Of these, 92,018 visited Lesbos, 89,456 visited Chios and 72,739 visited Samos. The figures are valid from the beginning of the measure until August 31, 2018.
The arrival of 254,213 Turkish tourists – a record number in the history of tourism in the northern Aegean – of which 54,373 obtained entry visas at the ports, proves the additional boost that the Mitsotakis-Erdogan agreement gave to tourist traffic to the islands.
There was also a high number of European citizens who visited the islands via Turkey (around 80,000), many of whom were immigrants of Turkish origin to European countries, who acquired citizenship of the country where they live.