Panic in Turkey with hotels left empty as tourists abandon country | Travel News | Travel

Turkey is experiencing a massive drop in tourism with hotels left empty as tourists engulf Greece.

On April 1, 2024, Greece launched visas on arrival for Turkish visitors, under this scheme Turkey citizens are entitled to visit ten Greek islands with an express visa for up to seven days, one entry.

This has caused the number of Turkish tourists in Greece to surge while many hotel rooms in Turkish resorts are said to have “remained empty”, according to VisaGuide.World.

During the first ten days of April, islands such as Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Kos, and Rhodes combined welcomed 20,690 Turkish tourists.

Tourism representatives in Türkey have expressed concern about this situation, with some demanding the cancellation of express visas.

The drop in tourism has forced Turkish resorts such as Borum to reduce prices by up to 50 percent from the second half of July and the first two weeks of August in a bid to entice visitors.

Demir, the Chairman of the TÜRSAB Regional Representation Board said: “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.”

Some 33 million people visited Greece in 2023 – around five million more than in 2022 – according to the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO), which makes it the tenth most visited country in the world.

Athens alone welcomed more than seven million tourists in 2023, and experts predict that it will jump by 20 percent this year.

While this surge boosts the Greek economy, it has also sparked a major housing crisis in the capital city and also puts strain on local resources.

Shutters over shop fronts in Athens have also been covered with graffiti that says: “No more tourism.”