Visa-on-arrival issue for Rhodes resolved

Some of the grievances of Turkish citizens who were unable to travel to the island of Rhodes due to the visa application at the gate were being covered by travel agencies, but as of today, the number of trips has been increased and departures are being made smoothly. The service, which provides the opportunity to quickly travel to Greek islands with visa application at the gate, had faced difficulties due to congestion during the holiday season. After the meeting of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in December 2023, the gate visa application that offers easy visa opportunities to Turks was cleared. In the gate visa application, which continued smoothly during the Ramadan Feast and the beginning of the summer season, as of June 16, the island police did not allow specifically those who received gate visas to enter the island, citing congestion. The return trips of citizens who receive visas at the gate to the island of Rhodes started from the customs port of Marmaris, located in the district of Mugla. Passengers, after confirming their tickets at the check-in points of the Green Marmaris company at the Customs Port of Marmaris, pass through to the customs area, have their passports stamped by the Turkish police, and then board the ferries. Turkish citizens going to Rhodes also pay 150 Turkish lira as an exit fee. Due to the intensity caused by the holiday and tourism season, the Rhodes police, citing the congestion, did not allow citizens who would arrive with gate visas to enter the island. For the trip between Marmaris and Rhodes, when the citizens who arrived at the port learned that they could not be accommodated due to congestion, they had to return from Marmaris Port. While it was learned that no admissions were made to the island due to the congestion, the grievances of those who could not enter the island by obtaining gate visas in 3 days are tried to be resolved with the solution of travel agencies. Sukru Tugay, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Green Marmaris travel agency, which operates Marmaris-Rhodes trips, stated, ‘Until the 16th of the month, we took our passengers who wanted to go to Rhodes with gate visa application without any problems, we even went with high numbers. We also had a density during the Ramadan Feast. Our guests had their holidays without any problems and returned, but on the 15th of the month, we received information from the passport police of Rhodes stating that even if our passengers applied on the 16th and 17th of the month, half of them should not come on the 16th and none of them should come on the 17th. The reason given for this was that the procedures were delayed due to congestion in the passport area. Of course, since this information came late, we could not reach most of our passengers. They came here. They were very victimized on Saturday, the 16th of the month. We made the necessary explanations to them, arranged accommodation in Marmaris for them. We tried to help them in travel organizations for other destinations they could go to, whether by plane or bus. As a result of the initiatives made by our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other ministries with the Greek authorities, senior officials of the Greek authorities went from Athens to Rhodes yesterday. A meeting was held thanks to the initiatives of other local authorities and our Turkish Consulate General in Rhodes. As a result of this meeting, it was said that there would be no restrictions, and from today onwards, it was stated that Rhodes can continue with the gate visa as before.’ ‘Only Rhodes Island had problems’ Tugay, who stated that they also operate trips to Rhodes from not only Marmaris but also from the districts of Bodrum and Fethiye, said, ‘The gate visa program is implemented on seven islands in Greece. So far, only Rhodes had problems because Rhodes is very popular and a port that can accommodate large cruise ships. The congestion and pressure on the passport police in Rhodes cannot be compared with other islands. Just as you cannot compare Istanbul with a smaller province, you cannot compare Rhodes Island with Kos Island, Samos, or Chios. It is one of the busiest ports of the Aegean Sea in terms of maritime traffic. It is one of the busiest passport ports, and it is the only Greek island where regular ferry trips are made from three Turkish ports, not only from Marmaris but also from Bodrum, as you mentioned, and from Fethiye. Only one Turkish port makes ferry trips to other Greek islands, but three Turkish ports make trips to Rhodes. Therefore, although it may seem normal for the police organization to experience this problem, they probably did not foresee such a demand, and perhaps really did not have enough time for it. The problem here may be that they did not foresee the intensity during the holiday.’ ‘Those entering with gate visas may wait for long hours on the island’ Tugay stated that they provide detailed reminders to passengers traveling to Rhodes with the gate visa application, ‘We inform everyone who applies for a gate visa that they will wait for a long time at the ports they visit. In fact, we already get a consent from them on the top of the applications that they will not complain about waiting for a long time. We tell each of our guests and each of our passengers that there will be very long queues when they go and assure us that they will not complain during this process, so they should go like that. People are aware of this.’ ‘They can retrieve the expenses with an official letter, this incident should be considered force majeure’ Tugay, regarding the compensation of the financial losses of the citizens who had booked tours between the 16th and 20th and made their payments, said, ‘There is no problem in terms of transportation, in other words, ferry ticket. We immediately refund it, it is paid back to credit cards. There is no problem with visa fees. We have already refunded all the payments made in cash. Those who did not receive the refund were told that they will receive it later. A list of all of them was made, and there are no problems with the refund of the fees we have received. However, of course, people have expenses for coming to Marmaris, travel expenses. There are hotel expenses in Rhodes. There are car rental expenses or transfer expenses in Rhodes. Most of the reservation platforms stated that they will not make the refund because they were too late.’