Turkey has increased the departure fee for Turkish citizens flying to international destinations by 233 percent ostensibly to enhance tax revenue.
Citizens travelling abroad on international flights will now have to pay 500 Turkish liras (£11.61) for the exit tax stamp, according to the Turkish Revenue Administration.
The fee was 50 liras between 2019 and 2022 and was increased to 150 liras in March 2022. The 350 lira increase was approved by parliament.
To prevent potential inconveniences at border crossings, the administration has allowed travellers to make the fee payments in advance and introduced an online option.
It has been reported that 1.31 billion liras (£300m) were collected from departure fees in 2023.
This comes as Turkey experiences a massive drop in domestic tourism with residents reportedly going to Greece instead.
On April 1, 2024, Greece launched visas on arrival for Turkish visitors and under this scheme, Turkish citizens are entitled to visit 10 Greek islands with an express visa for up to seven days.
This has caused the number of Turkish tourists in Greece to surge while many hotel rooms in Turkish resorts are empty.