Turkey welcomed 16 million foreign tourists visitors between January-August 2021, despite the pandemic. Out of this, the number of international visitors who visited Turkey in August is around 4 million.

Speeding up the COVID 19 vaccination drive across the country, The Republic of Turkey shared the latest numbers and details on vaccine dosage and tourist arrival numbers till 30th September. By the 8th of October 2021, Turkey vaccinated a total of 112 million of its citizens in different stages. While 55 million people have received their first dose; 46 million people have received the second dose and 11 million people have received the third dose. This is impressive vaccination data considering that the total population of Turkey is 83 million.

As per the latest travel guidelines issued by the Turkish Embassy in India last month, the passengers fully vaccinated with WHO or Turkish Government-approved doses will be exempted from mandatory quarantine provided at least 14 days have passed since their last dose. The travellers will need to carry a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR certificate along with them done 72 hours before arrival. In this regard travellers from India who got Covishield or Sputnik V can travel to Turkey without any restriction or quarantine. After Covaxin gets approval from WHO, travellers vaccinated with the same will also be able to visit Turkey without any restriction.

With the revival of tourism, travellers are all enthusiastic about travelling to this country. Indian nationals with valid US, UK, Ireland & Schengen visa can apply for e-visa hassle-free in less than 5 minutes via www.evisa.gov.tr/en/ web page. The visa applications are also open at the Gateway centres in respective cities. The Visa consulates are working with full capacity for sanctioning sticker Visas for Indian travellers.

Despite the fluctuating global scenario of COVID-19 strain, Turkey has kept a strong grip on the COVID-19 situation with guidelines & protocols in place for tourists and businesses associated with tourism. Due to this, the tourist inflow data in Turkey continues to be impressive. Turkey’s ‘Safe Tourism Certification Program’ defines and advises an extensive series of measures to be taken with regards to transportation and accommodation of all Turkish citizens and international visitors who will spend their holidays in Turkey.