More than 1.5 million Turkish tourists visited Greece last year, their number tripling in four years. In contrast, the number of Greek visitors to Turkey remained stable. In addition, they no longer shop in Turkish stores because “things have become more expensive,” according to Euronews.com.
Economic relations between Greeks and Turks have changed significantly in recent years. The total volume of trade and tourism has doubled in the past five years, but the benefits have been unevenly distributed between the two sides. Currently, the two Aegean neighbors are going through what diplomats call “calm waters”.
Tourism between the two countries tripled, but only in one direction. While the number of Greeks visiting Turkey remains stable at just over 500,000 a year, the number of Turkish tourists to Greece has tripled in the past four years, surpassing 1.5 million last year, according to official ELSTAT (Hellenic Statistics Authority) figures, which are slightly lower than estimates from other government sources.
How the tourism pole between the two countries has reversed
“Until about 10 years ago, people came from Greece to Turkey to shop, mainly in Istanbul, Edirne and Keşan. But now we see a lot more visitors from Turkey going to Greece because whatever they want to buy is cheaper there,” said Maria Dimou, a resident of Istanbul.
She added: “In Turkey, the bare necessities that one needs to live, to get by, are cheap. But when they want to buy something more expensive, the prices skyrocket, so they go to Greece and visit Thrace, mainly Alexandroupolis, but some go as far as Kavala, either for vacation or for shopping, and mainly for food, drinks and cold meats, which are very expensive here.”
Doruk, a computer engineer from Ankara met in a shopping mall in Istanbul, said: “Last month I went on vacation to Greece. I drove to Kavala and Thessaloniki and to be honest, I really liked Greece. The food was delicious, the portions were generous and everything was cheap.”
Symeon Soltaridis, the president of the Greek Community of Balino, explained that many Turks either take day trips to the Edirne region and from there pass to Orestiada, or gradually move to Greece as tourists, because the cost of tourism in Greece is much lower than in Turkey.
The “Visa Express” program opens the doors to the Greek islands
The Greek Consulate in Istanbul issues approximately 1,300 visas per day, most of which are multiple entry visas. This figure does not include the approximately 25,000 Turks on golden visa programs or working in Greece.
Also exempted are residents of the coast of Asia Minor who visit for up to seven days under the “Visa Express” program.
The “Visa Express” program, approved by the European Commission, covers 12 islands: Kalymnos, Kastellorizo, Kos, Lesbos, Leros, Limnos, Rodos, Samos, Symi, Chios, Patmos and Samothrace. Visas are issued at the ports, are valid for seven days and require the holder to remain on the island of entry.
Kos topped the list of destinations last year, followed by Rhodes, Chios, Lesvos and Samos.
August was the peak month in 2025 with almost 281,000 arrivals, followed by July with 233,000 and September with around 188,000.
Fewer Greeks shop in Istanbul
In Turkey, discontent is growing as Greek visitors no longer shop like in the past. Kantar Pehlivanoglu, owner of a street kiosk in Istanbul, said: “In the past, we had more Greek customers, while now it is even harder for them to come to Turkey, let alone shop here, and the reason is their financial situation compared to the past.”
Symeon Soltaridis confirmed this trend: “There was a time when they came and bought all kinds of things. Now they come, look around, explore the city, see us, the Greek sellers, but they can't buy anything because things have become expensive.”
Official figures cited by Euronews.com show that each Greek who visited Turkey last year spent an average of €340 per trip, up €50 a year over the past three years, but the rising cost of living in Turkey means they are getting fewer items.
At the same time, Turkish visitors to Greece spent an average of 303 euros per trip, according to the Bank of Greece.
“It is much cheaper to go to Greece, eat at a tavern there, drink ouzo or other drinks, spend the night there and come back, than to go to a similar tavern here in Istanbul,” said Maria Dimou.
“The quality of food in Greece has improved considerably and for Turks the prices are considered affordable, while here in Turkey they have skyrocketed,” she added.
Massive reversal in the trade balance
A major change was also registered in the trade balance reported by ELSTAT. Imports from Turkey to Greece increased from 1.34 billion euros in 2020 to more than 2 billion the following year and are estimated at 3.34 billion euros for last year.
In contrast, Greece's exports to Turkey for 2025 are estimated at €1.37 billion, down from €3 billion in 2022, the last year Greece exported more to Turkey than it imported.
Main photo source: Dreamstime.com
