How Turkey contributes to democratic income sharing in Greece

Last year, 850,000 Turkish tourists visited Greece; this number is expected to rise to 1 million by the end of this year.

Many Turkish tourists go to Athens and internationally popular islands like Mikonos and Santorini. But a majority prefer going to the closest islands, which takes only an hour or two to reach by ferry, such as Crete, Rhodes, Lesvos, Chios, Kos and others. The number of Turkish tourists traveling to Greece by land has also increased in recent years, with thousands crossing the border to visit cities like Alexandroupolis, Komotini, Kavala and Thessaloniki, the birth place of Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic.

“Turks mostly don't go to Greece’s top touristic destinations. So in a way Turkish tourists contribute to a more democratic tourism income sharing in Greece,” a Turkish official told me. Indeed, less internationally popular tourist sites in Greece are inundated with Turkish tourists. As a result, these places are less affected by the economic crisis that Greece has been struggling with for the past few years.

One of the best consequences of Turkish-Greek rapprochement has been the improvement in both nations’ outlook toward each other. This is particularly true for the Greek side. Over the course of the last 12 months, I have been to three different parts of Greece, and each time I have been pleasantly surprised to see how the Greeks we meet - be they at the border gate, restaurants or in the middle of the street - take pains to speak in Turkish.

My last visit was to Rhodes. Two-and-a-half days was obviously not enough to make a complete tour of the island, but with its immense Ottoman heritage, Rhodes will certainly become a top destination for Turkish tourists. After seeing the rather...