Every day more than 20 planes with tourists from Ukraine land in Turkey, and more than 30,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Antalya in the first two weeks of July, Turkish Ambassador to Ukraine Yagmur Ahmet Guldere said.
“The borders opened at the end of June, and most flights started on July 1. So, we are only talking about a period of two to three weeks in which we were able to restore these connections. However, I can say that the picture is very positive. At the moment, every day more than 20 planes with tourists from Ukraine land in Turkey. In Antalya alone, in the first two weeks of July, more than 30,000 Ukrainians arrived,” he said in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine agency.
Güldere also spoke about the measures taken by Turkey in order to avoid the spread of COVID-19 among tourists.
“We have developed a unique and progressive certification system for safe tourism, which has hundreds of criteria, including hygiene of passengers, vehicles, hotels, beach safety, social distancing. At the moment we have gained very good experience for tourists who come. Under normal conditions, one has to pay more to have additional space for himself. And now social distancing rules provide everyone with this additional space for free,” he explained.
According to the Turkish ambassador, he didn’t hear any comments about the problems of 30,000 Ukrainian tourists.
“Therefore, I understand that the system is working very well,” the diplomat added.
He noted that there are no bans for Ukrainian tourists in Turkey, but they have temperature measurements at airports.
“If you do not have a high temperature and symptoms of COVID-19, you can freely enjoy your vacation. You only need an ID card, because, as you know, Ukrainian and Turkish citizens can travel to each other only with their new generation ID cards. From the very beginning, 2020 has been a very difficult year. We believe that everyone has already deserved a very good vacation, and for Ukrainians who want to spend their vacation in Turkey, we have taken all measures that can be imagined, they can freely come to Turkey and enjoy a well-deserved vacation,” the Turkish Ambassador said.
