Turkish tourists landing on Greek islands

The Greek islands are reaping the rewards of the seven-day "visa express" granted to Turkish citizens, with arrivals in the first 10 days of April tripling compared to last year.

The data presented exclusively by Kathimerini show indicatively that arrivals on Lesvos reached 3,800 compared to 390 in the corresponding period (April 1-10) in 2023.

Visits also catapulted on Chios (from 2,716 to 4,993), Samos (299 to 2,851), Kos (2,400 to 3,300) and Rhodes (2,320 to 5,726). In total, arrivals on those five islands reached 20,690 from 5,969 in 2023, with a similar continuation expected for the other islands, as the visa express application was launched on a pilot basis on those five islands on March 31.

The scheme will be extended from April 30 to five islands and nine ports on Limnos, Leros, Symi, Kalymnos and Kastellorizo.

The increase in visitor numbers...