Turkish tourist flows through the border crossings of Kipi and Kastanies were reduced by 15 percent in the third quarter of 2018, according to the quarterly bulletin on the arrivals of Turkish nationals in Greece in July-September.
According to the President of the Federation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship of Thrace, Kostas Hatzimichael, arrival records show that more than 264,455 Turkish visitors entered Greece via Evros, or 46,399 fewer than the corresponding period in 2017. In particular, during the third quarter of this year, compared with 2017, arrivals of Turkish nationals through Kipi fell by 12.50 percent, while arrivals through Kastanies fell 25 percent.
"After a decade of a constant and occasionally significant increases in road arrivals of Turkish nationals to Greece during the summer months, and after months of resilience shown by incoming tourist flows from Turkey, both to the continued decline of the new Turkish lira against the euro and the deterioration of the Turkish economy, there was a decline in Turkish visits through the border crossing points of Kipi and Kastanies in the third quarter of 2018," Hatzimichael said.