Türkiye has decided to expand its current list of countries whose citizens are permitted visa-free entry.
Through a decree issued last week, the President of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said that citizens of another six countries will be allowed entry without undergoing the visa procedures, VisaGuide.World reports.
The list of countries whose citizens can now enter Türkiye without the need to obtain a visa is as follows:
- United Arab Emirates
- Saudi Arabia
- The United States
- Canada
- Bahrain
- Oman
According to the Turkish authorities, the decision to exempt citizens of the six countries mentioned above from the visa requirement comes in an attempt to attract more visitors to the country and to strengthen diplomatic ties.
Under the new rules, citizens of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the US, Canada, Bahrain, and Oman, will be able to stay in the territory of Türkiye for up to 90 days within a 180-day period without a visa when reaching the country for travel purposes.
On the other hand, citizens of these countries planning to stay in Türkiye longer, for study or work purposes will have to meet the same rules as before and undergo the visa procedures.
By permitting visa-free entry for citizens of these six countries, Türkiye wants to surpass tourism levels recorded during the pre-pandemic.
As Hurriyet Daily News explains, the move has been especially welcomed by tourism operators. The Black Sea Tourism Operators Association said that they expect a higher number of visitors following the decision.
Murat Toktaş, the president of the Black Sea Tourism Operators Association, told Hurriyet the highest rise will be seen in the number of visitors from the Gulf countries.
He further said that tourists will mainly visit Istanbul and stressed that a 50 percent increase is expected to be registered throughout the whole tourism industry.
Data provided by the Turkish Ministry of Tourism show that the number of tourist arrivals from Saudi Arabia saw one of the highest rises this year.
From January until November of this year, data show that 784,000 Saudi Arabians visited Türkiye – 70 percent more than a year ago.
The Ministry further revealed that in the first 11 months of this year, around 127,000 visitors from the United Arab Emirates and around 57,000 visitors from Bahrain entered Türkiye for tourism purposes.
The number of visitors from the US and Canada saw an increase this year, too. Arrivals from the US recorded a 33.4 percent increase and arrivals from Canada recorded a 27 percent increase.