EU agreement with Turkey to better address the refugee crisis, announced Sunday night, has a significant Greek tourism related aspect: EU promises abolition of visas for Turkish citizens from October 2016 for their travels in countries EU creating new potential for attracting Turkish tourists to Greece.
Hellenic Tourism Confederation (SETE) President Andreas Andreadis was quick to welcome the decision, by tweeting: “The possible abolition of visas for Turkish tourists is a very important development for the prospects of Greek tourism” and added that “Thessaloniki and Chalkidiki with the Aegean Islands will be the first to benefit thanks to the groundwork that has been done.”
President of the Hotel Association of Halkidiki Gregory Tassios, also noted in Twitter: “The region has been present for four years in the Turkish market. We wait for October 2016.”
German News Agency reported that EU promised the abolition of visas for Turkish citizens by October 2016, and the resumption of accession negotiations, that had been” frozen ” until today. In return, Ankara undertakes to implement a joint action plan to address the refugee crisis with high priority placed on securing its borders. Additionally, Turkey is to receive three billion euros in financial assistance, without precisely specifying the period over which the funds are disbursed. The Turkish delegation initially requested three billion annually, a request that was not accepted by the EU member states representatives.
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