ISTANBUL – Demirören News Agency
Balkan These countries are the first choice of Turks for their vacation thanks to visa liberalization, geographical proximity, cultural partnership, affordability and low exchange rates.
“The Balkans are very attractive for Turkish tourists because they offer visa-free travel, are affordable and are close to Turkey,” said Muhammet Ali Köprü, director of a tour operator company, Malitur. He highlighted that although tourism has been one of the sectors most affected by the pandemic, demands have reached high levels with normalization.
Highlighting that the Balkans is a popular destination in all seasons, Köprü said: “Turkish citizens prefer countries that do not require visas for an easier vacation. The Balkans are the optimal choice for historical and cultural trips, rather than a classic beach vacation.
Köprü also pointed out that it is very possible to find many Ottoman objects in cities like Sarajevo, Skopje, Ohrid and Pristina. “The Balkans are a “geography connected to our hearts”. We have many cultural and gastronomic similarities, which corresponds very well to the taste of the Turks.
“There are air and road alternatives in Balkan tours, which save time compared to long and tiring trips,” said Köprü, emphasizing that there are direct flights from Balkan’s two international airports. Istanbul.
Amid the upward trend of the euro, the Turkish lira maintains its strength against the currencies of the Balkan countries, Köprü informed.
“The Turkish lira still has value against the Serbian dinar, Romanian leu, Albanian lek and North Macedonian dinar. Therefore, travel prices are also cheaper,” he explained.
Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania stand out in terms of travel preferences by granting visa liberalization to Turkish citizens.
Recently, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that Turkish and Serbian citizens can now visit both countries with their ID cards, thanks to an agreement reached during his visit to Serbia.
“Our excellent relations are improving day by day. The signed protocol on travel with identity will take our relations to a new level,” he said.
In 2022, around 300,000 Serbian tourists visited Turkey, and traveling with ID will increase this number, while making it much easier for businessmen to carry out their mutual trips, Erdoğan said.
Furthermore, Turkey and Bosnia have also decided to open the way for their citizens to travel between the two countries with an ID card.
“In a new step, we decided to travel back and forth between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey with identity cards,” Erdoğan said.
Turkey maintains strong ties with the Balkans as the country has deep-rooted historical, human and cultural ties in the region and tries to avoid tensions, the president said.