Restrictions In The Greek Islands And Other Tourist Cities During The Bayram Holiday – OpEd

This year, during the Bayram (Eid al-Adha) holiday, restrictions have been implemented on the Greek islands and other popular tourist cities due to the overwhelming number of visitors. The Greek islands have halted the acceptance of foreign tourists due to full capacity, preventing Turkish tourists from entering Rhodes, Chios, and Lesbos beyond a certain number. Similarly, Venice is not accepting more than a specific number of tourists. This practice is also present in other Italian tourist cities. For example, sitting on the Spanish Steps in Rome is prohibited as people tend to stay for long periods, eat, and litter.

Prince Islands in Turkey During Bayram

In Turkey, transportation to the Prince islands is free during Bayram (Eid al-Adha) , and there are no restrictions. This increases local tradespeople's earnings but also highlights the necessity for them to pay taxes on their income. For short trips to the islands in Istanbul, a fee of 70₺ per person is charged with Istanbulkart, and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) claims to subsidize 35% of this cost. However, there are various suspicions among the public regarding such subsidies during the holiday periods. IMM arbitrarily set the annual visa fee of 435₺ for the blue Ada card issued to local residents with official residence on the islands, suggesting no subsidy but revenue-increasing measures.

Quota Application for Foreign Tourists

The necessity of imposing quotas on foreign tourists during Bayram is under discussion. Although the IMM President has spoken about standards and norms, there are visible shortcomings in the implementation and supervision of these rules. The new large buses are considered more dangerous than the old ones. The old buses had three emergency exits, while the new ones have only one. The old buses were open-air and did not require air conditioning, whereas the new ones do. Air conditioning draws power from the battery, causing it to drain quickly, and the island's power grid may struggle to meet this high energy demand. The carrying capacity remains 13 people. This situation indicates that the local administration is not adequately addressing the justified demands of the local population.

While the restrictions in the Greek islands and other popular tourist cities aim to control tourist density and protect the environment, such measures are not yet sufficiently implemented in Turkey. Imposing quotas on foreign tourist entries during Bayram could be a significant step for the comfort of local residents and the taxation of local tradespeople's income. IMM needs to be more diligent in applying standards and norms, enhancing safety measures in new buses, and listening more to the demands of the local populace. The islanders long for the good old days when there were no electric cars, everyone walked, at most rode bicycles, and rarely used carriages, cherishing those beautiful, happy, and peaceful times.