Turkey, Greece ink New Protocol on Tourism Cooperation

According to a statement from the Culture and Tourism Ministry, the sixth Joint Tourism Committee Meeting was held in Ankara under the co-chairmanship of Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Nadir Alpaslan and Greece’s Deputy Tourism Minister Anna Karamanli.

In his remarks during the meeting, Alpaslan emphasized the need to diversify tourism offerings and proposed collaboration in the fields of rural and coastal tourism.

He also emphasized that expanding the scope of the visa-on-arrival scheme would bring significant benefits to both countries.

In 2024, approximately 1.5 million Turkish citizens traveled to Greece. This increase was largely driven by the visa-on-arrival scheme applied to the Greek islands.

In the same year, the number of Greek tourists visiting Turkey was around 700,000.

Alpaslan highlighted the value of collaboration in areas such as agrotourism and coastal tourism.

“Cooperation in areas that highlight experiences intertwined with rural life, such as agrotourism, and our geographic assets like coastal tourism, will contribute to local economies and address growing demand for alternative travel,” he said.

He underscored that strengthening transport networks between the two countries would increase the mutual flow of tourists. Alpaslan emphasized that new routes and the expansion of existing services would improve travel comfort and foster deeper economic and cultural ties.

Following the talks, the tourism cooperation protocol was officially signed by Alpaslan and Karamanlis, marking a new chapter in tourism relations between Turkey and Greece.

Source: HDN