Turkey to grant visa-free travel to six European countries

Turkey to allow visa-free travel for 6 European countries

Turkey will lift visa restrictions for tourists from Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the U.K. starting March 2, spokesman Hami Aksoy said.

“The aim of this step is to advance [Turkey’s] tourism potential with the said countries, as well as developing commercial, economic and cultural relations,” the ministry in a written statement.

Visa-free touristic travel to Turkey from the said countries will begin March 2, 2020 and will be valid for 90 days in every 180 days of the visits, the statement added.

Turkey is already a popular destination for British tourists, with more than 2.5 million arrivals last year.

Some 51.9 million people visited Turkey in 2019, including 44.7 million foreigners and 7.2 million Turkish expats.

Having hosted the highest annual number of tourists ever last year, Turkey was the sixth most-visited country in the world, according to the U.N. World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).