Greece names Turkey ‘honorary country’ in economy, tourism along with Israel, Russia, US

ANKARA

Greece has named Turkey an “honorary country” in 2016, along with three other countries, in a bid to boost bilateral economic and tourism ties.

Israel, Russia and the United States also took the same status this year.

“In line with this framework and an agreement between the Turkish Foreign Ministry and the Greek Trade and Entrepreneurship Confederation, Turkish tourists who visit Greece over this year will benefit from a 20 percent of discount in all businesses that have participated in the program. There are thousands of participants in dozens of touristic areas across Greece,” said the Greek Embassy in Ankara in a written statement at the end of May.

In 2015, more than 1 million Turks visited Greece, while over 800,000 Greek tourists visited Turkey, according to official data.

Every year four countries are selected by Greece as “honorary” and their citizens enjoy additional benefits and discounts at all affiliated sites.

In 2017, the “honorary countries” and regions will be the EU, China, Iran and the Western Balkans, according to the statement.