Antalya welcomes 4 million visitors during Eid holiday

ANTALYA

Antalya, one of Türkiye’s major destinations for local and international holidaymakers, welcomed around 4 million visitors during the Eid al-Adha holiday.

More than 1 million vehicles and nearly 7,200 buses entered the Mediterranean city during the long holiday, according to local officials. The airplane traffic at Antalya Airport reached 4,300.

There was a huge influx of visitors into the city, said Nurettin Şengül from the Municipality of Antalya, noting that tens of thousands of people flocked to Antalya from all over the country as the 9-day-long Eid holiday coincided with the start of the summer break at schools.

Some 100,000 travelers arrived at the city’s main terminal with intercity buses, according to Şengül.

“Since the eve of the Eid holiday, around 4 million people entered Antalya,” he said.

‘Holiday on Greek Islands’

Meanwhile, thousands of Turkish holidaymakers visited the Greek islands during the Eid thanks to the Greek government’s visa on arrival program for Turkish citizens.

On average 15,000 Turkish visited the 6 Greek islands in the Aegean Sea each day during the Eid al-Adha, according to Kıvanç Meriç from the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB).

However, some of the Turkish tourists wishing to visit Rhodes Island encountered problems, said Meriç.

According to Meriç, the problems stemmed from the mistakes made by the local administration on the island, not due to Turkish travel agencies and marine transport companies.

Many Turkish visitors vacationed at the Lesbos, Chios and Samos islands without any problems, he said, adding that some Turkish holidaymakers had to wait up to 3 hours at customs, but they were finally cleared to enter those islands.

The Greek islands have become very popular destinations among Turkish holidaymakers, thanks to the fast-track visa scheme and increased means of transportation, Meriç said.