Catamarans owned by the ferry company of Turkey’s ?zmir Metropolitan Municipality will start regular trips between the Alsancak Port and the Greek island of Lesbos in a bid to boost tourism in the Aegean Sea, Northern Aegean Islands Economic Development Agency (EOAEN) head Thrasos Kalogridis has said.
Both sides have been working to increase the number of ferry tours between the Aegean costs of Turkey and Greece to further improve bilateral ties, Kalogridis said.
In a bid to connect Lesbos and ?zmir, which has a population of over 4 million, catamarans owned by the ?zdeniz company will start tours next May.
The connection between Turkey’s Aegean coast and Lesbos is currently provided by ferries, mainly via the district of Ayval?k in the Aegean province of Bal?kesir.
“It is a significant target for Lesbos to connect directly with ?zmir … We met with ?zmir Metropolitan Mayor Aziz Kocao?lu to realize this target and we decided to start ?zdeniz catamaran tours between these two destinations catamarans. Two catamarans are currently under construction and will be submitted in April 2017. The tours will then start. The first tour will likely start on May 17, 2017,” said Kalogridis.
With the launch of these tours, it is hoped that the number of Turkish tourists visiting Lesbos will rise by 30 percent.
The Greek islands are already among the most popular summer destinations for many Turks, with around 400,000 Turkish citizens visiting the Greek islands annually. Ferry tours are currently made from Ayval?k to Lesbos, from the ?zmir district of ?e?me to the Greek island of Chios, from Turkish districts of Ku?adas? and Seferihisar to Samos, from Bodrum to Kos, and from Marmaris to Rhodes.
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