Economic relations between Greeks and Turks have shifted markedly in recent years.
The two neighbours have long seen their political leaders swing between confrontation and what diplomats call “calm waters” — a phrase used to describe the current spell.
Overall trade and tourism volumes have doubled over five years, but the gains have fallen unevenly on either side compared with what was previously observed.
“Until about 10 years ago people were coming from Greece to Turkey to shop, mainly in Istanbul, Edirne and Keşan. Now, however, we see many more visitors from Turkey going to Greece because whatever they want to buy is cheaper there”, said Maria Dimou, who lives in Istanbul.
“In Turkey the bare essentials someone needs in order to live, to be able to get by, are cheap,” Dimou continued.
But when they want to buy something more expensive “prices shoot up, so they go to Greece and visit Thrace, mainly Alexandroupolis but some go as far as Kavala, either for holidays or for shopping and mainly for food, drinks and cold meats, which are very expensive here [in Turkey],” she added.
Number of Turks visiting Greece has tripled in four years
While the number of Greeks visiting Turkey each year remains roughly stable at just over 500,000, the number of Turks coming to Greece has tripled over the past four years from a similar baseline — exceeding 1.5 million last year, according to estimates by the relevant authorities drawn from a range of sources, though official ELSTAT figures are slightly lower.
“Last month I went on holiday to Greece. I drove as far as Kavala and Thessaloniki and, to be honest, I really liked Greece. The food was delicious, the portions were generous and everything was cheap,” Doruk, a computer engineer who lives permanently in Ankara but whom we met at a popular shopping mall in Istanbul, told Euronews.
People in Turkey seem to be responding to the more reasonable prices in Greece and say they would like to return soon.
“A great many Turks either go on day trips to the Edirne region and from there cross over into Orestiada, or gradually make their way into Greece as tourists, because the cost of tourism in Greece is far lower than in Turkey and, as a result, from Ayvalık and other areas they now cross over by the thousands, especially in summer, to the Greek islands”, said Symeon Soltaridis, an Istanbul resident and president of the Greek Community of Balino.
Greek Consulate in Istanbul issues 1,300 visas a day
Greece has become a highly attractive destination for Turkish citizens. According to diplomatic sources, the Greek consulate in Istanbul alone issues around 1,300 visas a day, most of them multi-entry — secured primarily by Turks planning repeated visits for holidays, though shopping trips also feature.
That figure excludes the roughly 25,000 Turks who have obtained or are in the process of obtaining residence permits through golden visa schemes or by virtue of working in Greece.
Also not counted are the sizeable numbers of residents of Izmir and the broader Asia Minor coast who make short visits — up to seven days — to as many as 12 islands in the north-eastern Aegean and the Dodecanese under a fast-track on-the-spot visa arrangement.
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The ‘Visa Express’ in the eastern Aegean
Known as “Visa Express” and billed as part of broader “people-to-people diplomacy,” the scheme was approved by the European Commission and launched at the initiative of the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis following his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at a session of the Greece–Turkey High-Level Cooperation Council.
The programme covers 12 islands: Kalymnos, Kastellorizo, Kos, Lesbos, Leros, Limnos, Rhodes, Samos, Symi, Chios, Patmos and Samothrace. Visas are issued at port entry points, are valid for seven days and tie the holder to the island for which they were granted — no island-hopping permitted. The islands have seen a strong tourism boost as a result.
Kos topped the list of destinations last year, largely due to its proximity to Bodrum, followed by Rhodes and Chios — the latter drawing predominantly higher-income visitors.
Lesbos and Samos rounded out the top five. August was the peak month in 2025, with nearly 281,000 arrivals, followed by July with 233,000 and September with around 188,000.
‘Greeks can no longer cope with prices in Istanbul’
In Turkey, however, there are complaints that Greeks visiting Istanbul no longer shop as they once did.
“In the past I had more Greek customers, whereas now it is harder for them even to come to Turkey, let alone shop here, and the reason is their financial situation compared with the past,” Kantar Pehlivanoglu, who owns a street stall selling jewellery and fashion accessories in Istanbul, told Euronews.
Soltaridis, the Istanbul resident, also highlighted that prices are becoming too high for Greek visitors.
“There was a time when they would come and buy all sorts of things. Now they come, look around, experience the city, see us, the Rum Greeks, but they cannot buy because things have become expensive,” he explained.
According to official figures, each Greek who visited Turkey last year spent an average of €340 per trip — a figure that has risen by around €50 a year over the past three years.
In practice, however, that increase buys less than it once did. Turkey’s sharp rise in the cost of living means Greek visitors are getting less for their money.
Turkish visitors to Greece, meanwhile, spent just over €300 per trip on average or €303 to be precise, according to the most recent Bank of Greece data.
“It is much cheaper to go to Greece, to eat in a taverna there, to drink ouzo or other drinks, stay the night and come back than it is to go to a similar taverna here in Istanbul,” Dimou explained.
“The quality of food in Greece has improved dramatically and, for Turks, prices are considered affordable, while here in Turkey they have skyrocketed.”
Huge shift in the Greece–Turkey trade balance
At the same time, according to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), the past few years have seen a significant shift in the trade balance between the two countries.
For example, imports from Turkey into Greece reached €1.34 billionin 2020, exceeded €2 billion the following year and €3 billion in 2024, and are now estimated at €3.34 billion for last year.
By contrast, exports from Greece to Turkey for 2025 are estimated at just €1.37 billion, a figure that has been falling over the past three years, having reached €3 billion in 2022, the last year in which Greece exported more to Turkey than it imported.
