STORY: Türkiye eyes more digital nomads to boost tourism, economy
SHOOTING TIME: May 2, 2024 and May 6, 2024
DATELINE: May 7, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:07
LOCATION: Ankara
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. SOUNDBITE (English): STEF VAN EYSENDEYK, Belgian tax advisor
2. various of tourists at the airport and beaches of Antalya, Türkiye (courtesy of ihlas news agency)

STORYLINE:

Türkiye is making efforts to attract digital nomads - people with professional skills who work remotely - to boost the country's tourism and economy.

In late April, Türkiye officially rolled out the digital nomad visa. 

It is now available to applicants from specific countries who meet Türkiye's income threshold.

Visa recipients can live and work in big cities of Türkiye for up to one year, with the option to renew.

Stef Van Eysendeyk, a Belgian tax advisor working remotely from the southern, sun-soaked resort city of Antalya, told Xinhua in a recent interview that despite high inflation, Türkiye still stands as an affordable option for digital nomads.

SOUNDBITE (English): STEF VAN EYSENDEYK, Belgian tax advisor
"I came here the first time last year, the middle of August until the middle of November. And as you can imagine, I kind of liked it, because I'm back here again. It's a quite nice place to be, I would say. The previous time I was staying here was through a tourist visa. You can only stay for 90 days with a tourist visa. That would be a nice thing for people who want to stay maybe a bit longer than 90 days. For nomads like me, it's good to have the option. Other countries also announced the nomad visas as well, so I think it's a good thing that Türkiye also jumped on that wagon. First of all, the climate for me, having a bit of sun throughout the whole year, not only in the summer, that's quite nice. People are also generally very friendly, I would say. Affordability is always a thing, so I think for people coming from a Western country, Türkiye is probably still quite affordable. Of course, I know that for the local population, there have of course been some struggles over the years with the inflation and the currency, but for people coming from abroad, I would definitely say that Türkiye is still quite affordable."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Ankara.
(XHTV)