Panic in Turkey as new £12 charge brought in after tourists abandoning country for Greece
The departure tax in Turkey has been raised as the country's residents eschew staycations for holidays abroad in Greece leaving hotels empty.
Turkey is raising its departure taxes on its own citizens after reports of residents choosing Greece as a holiday destination, leaving domestic hotels empty.
Turkey has increased the departure fee for Turkish citizens flying to international destinations by 233 percent ostensibly to enhance tax revenue.
Citizens travelling abroad on international flights will now have to pay 500 Turkish liras (£11.61) for the exit tax stamp, according to the Turkish Revenue Administration.
The fee was 50 liras between 2019 and 2022 and was increased to 150 liras in March 2022. The 350 lira increase was approved by parliament.
To prevent potential inconveniences at border crossings, the administration has allowed travellers to make the fee payments in advance and introduced an online option.
It has been reported that 1.31 billion liras (£300m) were collected from departure fees in 2023.
This comes as Turkey experiences a massive drop in domestic tourism with residents reportedly going to Greece instead.
On April 1, 2024, Greece launched visas on arrival for Turkish visitors and under this scheme, Turkish citizens are entitled to visit 10 Greek islands with an express visa for up to seven days.
This has caused the number of Turkish tourists in Greece to surge while many hotel rooms in Turkish resorts are empty.
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During the first 10 days of April, the islands of Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Kos and Rhodes combined welcomed 20,690 Turkish tourists, many of whom in previous years when it was trickier to secure visas are likely to have holidayed in their home country.
Tourism representatives in Türkey have expressed concern about this situation, with some demanding the cancellation of express visas.
The drop in tourism in Turkey has forced some hotels in resorts such as Bodrum to reduce prices by up to 50 percent for the second half of July and the first two weeks of August in a bid to entice visitors.
Some 33 million people visited Greece in 2023 - around five million more than in 2022 - according to the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO), which makes it the 10th most visited country in the world.
