තුර්කියේ ආර්ථික අර්බුදයෙන් ග්‍රීසියේ සංචාරක කර්මාන්තයට වාසියක්

Türkiye's economic crisis fuels Greek tourism boom

Turkish tourists have been flocking to neighboring Greece as rising inflation and living costs have driven holidaymakers to seek cost-effective vacation options.

Türkiye has been grappling with soaring inflation in recent years, with its catering and hotel industries bearing the brunt. In June, inflation in Türkiye hit 71.6 percent. The latest data from the Turkish Statistical Institute shows that prices of restaurants and hotels in the country surged by 90.67 percent year-on-year.

Zafer Alten is a businessman living in Istanbul. Every year he spends holiday with his family in south Türkiye. But the soaring costs have seen him turning to Greece due to lower prices for both food and accommodation.

"Because of the price, especially food and accommodation, it's more cheaper. If you go to restaurant in the southern part of Türkiye, you pay, for example, per person, approximately 50 or 80 euros. But if we go to Greece, that amount you can have four people [for] a dinner," said Alten.

Greece's implementation of a visa-on-arrival policy for Turkish tourists visiting 10 islands from April 1 this year has also fueled the tourism boom.

As a result, a growing number of travel companies have seen sharp rise in bookings for Greek travel packages compared to last year.

"This year, the gap it became really huge. From last year to this year, we received 100% of increments[in orders]," said Uğur Alkaya, assistant general manager at a Turkish travel company.

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