Greek Islands are set to invite Turkish visitors

Could the opening up for travel to Greek islands for Turkish citizens be the first step towards solving the Cyprus problem?

Turkish travellers could now visit ten Greek islands under a new scheme announced this week. Officials on the famous island of Rhodes have opened a new visa terminal for Turkish visitors as part of a diplomatic effort to ease long-standing tensions between the two countries. The limited access visa will allow Turks to visit the Greek islands for up to a week without having to apply for full access to the EU passport in a few travel zones, also known as the Schengen area. Last year, NATO members Greece and Turkey launched several initiatives to sidestep decade-old disputes, primarily over the sea boundaries and mineral rights in the Aegean Sea and the ownership of Cyprus. The renewed focus on trade is positive for tourism, too.

Which Greek islands are included in the express visa scheme, and how much does it cost?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in December to sign bilateral cooperation agreements in Athens. Mitsotakis is set to visit Turkey next month. Before that meeting, he took to social media, writing, "The express visa can be issued not only in summer but all year round. The measure is designed to boost tourism in areas and at times of the year when there is a lot of traffic to help the local economies."

The islands in the visa programme all lie near the Turkish coastline. They include Lesbos, Limnos, Chios, Samos, Leros, Kalymnos, Kos, Symil and Kastellorizo, with smaller islands due to join the scheme in June.

Granted at participating Greek ports, the new visa would cost 60 euros per traveller, including a passport check and fingerprint recording. Greek officials have clarified that island visitors can only travel to other EU member states with the correct paperwork. Turkey has sling sought more relaxed travel rules for its citizens visiting the EU in exchange for cooperating with member states, including efforts to curb illegal immigration. Tourism is an important industry for the Greek economy; it welcomed 32.7 million visitors last year alone, which raised 20.5 billion, according to central bank data.

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