About 49.2 million international visitors visited Turkey in 2023; officials called it the industry’s best year ever. The tourism sector is a vital source of income for the nation, which is working to reduce its chronic current account deficit.
Leading the way from Russia and Europe, the number reaches a record high and increases by 10.4% from the 44.6 million international tourists in 2022, according to figures released on Wednesday by the Culture and Tourism Ministry.
The number of tourists increased to 56.7 million when combined with the approximately 7.5 million Turkish nationals who reside overseas. Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Minister of Culture and Tourism, announced the results at a press conference. Compared to 51.4 million in 2022, the number is higher.
It is anticipated that 60 million foreign arrivals will occur in 2024, and 90 million in 2028. According to the minister, revenue is expected to reach $60 billion this year and $100 billion in five years. Prior to the pandemic, revenues were $38.4 billion in 2019; they nearly plummeted to barely $14.8 billion in 2020 before increasing to $30.2 billion in 2021.
With 6.3 million visitors, Russians accounted for 12.8% of total tourists, up 20.7% from the year before. Following them were 6.2 million German tourists (up 9% yearly), 3.8 million Britons (up 12.8%), 2.9 million Bulgarians (up 0.4%), and 2.5 million Iranian tourists (up 7.4%).
Turkey’s growth objectives include the Scandinavian nations of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland, as well as the North American markets of the United States and Canada. They also have expansion in the Asia-Pacific area in mind, with a particular emphasis on the markets in China, India, and Australia.
Istanbul, the most well-known and populous city in Turkey, continued to be the top destination for tourists from outside the country, with 17.4 million visitors in 2023. With 14.8 million visitors, Antalya, a Mediterranean vacation city, came in second. With 4.7 million visitors, Edirne, a city in northwest Turkey that borders Greece and Bulgaria, came in third.
2023 was the best year so far for tourism in Turkey
In 2028, 82.3 million tourists and $100 billion in tourism-related income are anticipated. Due to the foreign cash it generates, tourist income is crucial to Turkey’s economy, as the government prioritises exports, production, and investments over growing inflation and works to turn the country’s current account deficits into surpluses.
With 56.7 million visitors, an overnight income per person of $99, and total revenue of $54.3 billion, 2023 set a record for tourism, and expectations are high for 2024. The most recent data shows that there were 2.48 million visitors in December, up 3.51% from the previous year. With 251,895 arrivals, Bulgarians constituted the largest group of foreign visitors in December.
Germans came next, at 233,416; Russians came next, at 229,979; and Iranians came last, at 213,156. 1.3 million, or 53% of all foreign visitors, came to Istanbul in December. Edirne came in second with 14% or 356,255 visitors. With 259,568 visitors and a 10.5% share, Antalya came in second.
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