According to the data released by TUIK, 8 million 262 thousand residents in Türkiye traveled domestically in the first quarter, consisting of January, February, and March.
The total number of trips with one or more overnight stays made by travelers within the country decreased by 2.3% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, reaching 9 million 854 thousand trips. During this quarter, travelers made a total of 65 million 239 thousand overnight stays. The average number of nights stayed was 6.6.
Increase in travel expenditures
Domestic tourists' travel expenditures within Türkiye increased by 103.2% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same quarter of the previous year, reaching 45 billion 262 million 452 thousand TL.
Of these expenditures, 95.6% were personal expenses amounting to 43 billion 273 million 587 thousand TL, while 4.4% were package tour expenses amounting to 1 billion 988 million 864 thousand TL. The average expenditure per trip was 4 thousand 593 TL.
Most money spent on food and drink
When examining the distribution of expenditure types within total travel expenditures for this quarter, the highest share was taken by food and drink expenses at 33.3%, followed by transportation expenses at 28.8%, and accommodation expenses at 10.9%.
When examining the change rates of these expenditure types compared to the same period of the previous year, there was an increase of 91.4% in food and drink expenses, 80.8% in transportation expenses, and 127.3% in accommodation expenses.
Most travel for visiting friends and relatives
Travel for visiting friends or relatives ranked first with 64%, followed by "travel, entertainment, vacation" at 22.5%, and "health" at 6.6%.
During this quarter, travelers stayed the most at "friends or relatives' houses" with 53 million 228 thousand overnight stays. In terms of the number of overnight stays by accommodation types, "hotels" ranked second with 4 million 971 thousand overnight stays, while "own home" ranked third with 4 million 354 thousand overnight stays.
Summary
In summary, while the number of travelers decreased in the first quarter of 2024, the travel expenditures saw a significant increase, with the most money being spent on food and drink. The primary reason for travel was visiting friends and relatives, with most travelers staying in friends' or relatives' houses.