Gürol Sökmensüer, Turkey's ambassador to Chisinau, said citizens of Turkey and Moldova will be able to travel to each other's countries with only identification documents as of Tuesday.
Sökmensüer noted that in line with the agreement inked between the two countries, citizens will be able to stay in Moldova visa-free with a new type of chipped identification every 180 days as of Feb. 19, 2019, provided they do not exceed a 90-day stay.
Travel with identification documents, which is projected to positively effect the tourism volume between the two countries, is expected to increase the number of tourists, especially from Moldova.
The number of tourists from Moldova stood at 194,000 last year, with an increase of 13.25 percent. Of the 194,000 Moldovan tourists visiting Turkey last year, 40,000 arrived in Istanbul. This year, the number of tourists coming from Moldova is expected to exceed 200,000.
While 140,000 Moldovans visited Turkey in 2016, this figure rose to 171,000 in 2017. There are three one-hour flights every day between Moldova's capital Chisinau and Istanbul. As of Feb. 19, citizens who enter Moldova with an identity card will be able to stay in the country visa-free every 180 days, provided they do not stay longer than 90 days.
