At a recent press briefing at the Atatürk Cultural Center, Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy presented Türkiye's tourism data for the third quarter and the first nine months of 2024.
Over 49 million visitors in nine months
Minister Ersoy reported that 6.9 million tourists visited Türkiye in September, bringing the total visitor count for the first nine months to 49.18 million—an 8.7% increase compared to the same period last year. Ersoy noted that since he assumed office in 2017, visitor numbers for this period have risen by 61% from an initial 30 million to 49,1 million. Compared to pre-pandemic figures, this increase stands at 18.34%.
Türkiye's tourist target revised upwards
Russian Federation topped the list of countries sending visitors to Türkiye in the nine-month period, with 5.7 million visitors. Germany followed with 5.2 million, and the United Kingdom with 3.7 million. Minister Ersoy also noted that visitor numbers, which saw a slowdown in June and July due to the European Championships and the Paris Olympics, began to recover in August and picked up momentum in September. "According to data from airports, we expect to close October with a growth rate of 10% or more. Bookings for November and December are already well above last year's levels. We are revising our tourist target upward to 61 million,” he added.
Average stay duration continues to decline
Minister Ersoy shared that the average stay duration for tourists in Turkey during the third quarter was 10.6 nights. In comparison, the average stay in 2017 was 11.5 nights, 10.8 in 2019, and 11.3 nights in 2023.
Tourism revenue reaches $47 billion
Turkey’s third-quarter tourism revenue reached $23.2 billion, while revenue for the first nine months totaled $46.9 billion. For comparison, tourism revenue was $24.6 billion in 2017, $33.8 billion in 2019, and $44 billion in 2023.
"Türkiye provides the most accurate visitor data in the world"
Minister Ersoy highlighted Türkiye’s accuracy in reporting visitor numbers, stating, “Visitors entering Turkey go through passport checks at border crossings, so transit passengers are not included in our statistics. If we counted them, we would already be past the 80 million mark. In Europe, visitor numbers are often estimated based on phone signals or lodging records, meaning a person with two phones or staying at multiple hotels may be counted multiple times.”
Average spending per visitor hits $97
The Minister also shared the latest figures on per capita spending. In the third quarter of 2017, average tourist spending was $76, rising to $81 in 2019, $92 in 2023, and $97 in 2024. According to Ersoy, the third-quarter average daily spending was $107 for foreign tourists and $65 for Turkish citizens residing abroad.