Neighboring Islands...!

Businessman - Yalçın ARAS

A total of 20,750 of our citizens went on vacation during the holiday to the five Greek islands where the visa-on-arrival program has been relaunched.

Some of them went for day trips, while others stayed in hotels and returned.

The total number of tourists from Turkey during the same holiday period last year was five times higher than this holiday.

Traveling is wonderful; personally, as someone who has visited all five of these islands where the visa requirement was lifted, I am someone who knows the difference.

I looked at this situation from another perspective. I found the total population of the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Kos, and Rhodes from the internet encyclopedia called Wikipedia.

A total population of 401,000 lives on the five islands, and I assumed that each of the 20,750 citizens who went spent an average of 300 Euros on the islands.

I calculated the money we left on the Greek islands during the holiday to be 6 million 225 thousand Euros.

By calculating the number of tourists who will go to these 5 islands throughout the year as 100 thousand, I calculated that 30 million Euros would be left on the Greek islands in one year, which would amount to 74,812 Euros per person for the 401 thousand population living on the islands.

Yes, while reading this, many of you must have thought, "So, should we not go?"

There must also be those of you who say, "It was fine when you were going."

However, I would like to note in advance that I believe Turks should travel not only to the Greek islands but to the whole world, and that the state should encourage this.

I believe that if we identify the difference between us and the islands, determine the reasons why our people prefer the islands, and eliminate these problems, we could attract at least as many tourists from Greece alone.

While I was making the calculations above, I also want to look at the situation from the positive aspects of the economic contribution we provide to our neighboring islands.

Because "what is cooked in the neighbor's house also falls to us." Some of the things we eat and drink on the islands also come from our country.

What is the difference? I am writing from the perspective of a citizen who has been there. First of all, they haven't buried everything in concrete; they have protected the historical and ecological balance, the beaches are very cheap, the food is delicious, hygienic, and very cheap; whether you sit in a cafe or a restaurant, free water comes in a large glass first, you can drink it or leave it, no one says anything; every island has beaches, history, food, silence, cleanliness, and smiling people; they are so used to tourists that the thought of ripping them off never crosses their minds.

Greece has more of what we have: history, food, nature, sun, sea, water, coffee; but to utilize all of these, it is essential to have cleanliness, to protect nature and history, and to have carried out a total tourism mobilization.

I do not look at any neighboring country with a jealous eye, but we must also see the good sides of our neighbors.

We need to do something so that we can also win while our neighbors are winning, and we need to put our hats in front of us and think.

We have come out of a holy holiday and entered a national holiday..

Saying how happy it is, I also take this opportunity to celebrate your April 23rd holiday..