Turkey has decided to exempt citizens from European Union countries Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Poland as well as the UK from visa requirements for tourist stays of up to 90 days as of March 2, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday, Reuters reported.
He said Turkey aimed to boost tourism as well as business and “cultural” relations with the visa exemption. The move could also support Turkey’s current account balance.
The number of foreign arrivals in Turkey surged 14.11 percent in 2019, boosting Turkey’s tourism revenue to $34.5 billion, data from Tourism Ministry and Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) showed in January.
According to Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, the recent disagreement between Ankara and Moscow on Syria could trigger a ban on tourism to Turkey from the Russian government for its citizens.