Turkey has solidified its position as a leading international tourism destination, welcoming over 26.1 million visitors in the first half of 2024, generating a revenue of $23.7 billion. This represents a nearly 14% increase compared to the same period last year. Tourism revenue during the same period grew by 9.3%.
By the end of the year, Turkey aims to reach 60 million tourists and $60 billion in revenue. The top three countries sending tourists to Turkey are Russia, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Popular destinations within Turkey include Istanbul, Antalya, Izmir, and Mugla.
The number of Russian tourists on the Turkish coast increased by 3% in the first half of the year to 2.7 million. Germany demonstrated a 9% increase in tourists during this period (over 2.5 million visitors). The United Kingdom, Turkey's third-largest market, showed a 19% increase with nearly 1.8 million tourists.
Simultaneously, Turkey has recorded the highest growth in the number of tourists from China - the number of tourists from the Middle Kingdom has increased by 111% since the beginning of the year to 187 thousand people. Moreover,more than 56,000 Japanese tourists visited the country in the first six months of 2024, which is 96% more than in the first six months of 2023.
Under these conditions, Turkey is registering an increase in the popularity of its cultural heritage sites among foreigners.For example, Turkish museums and historical sites received about 14 million visitors, which is 12% more than in the same period last year.
The authorities are confident that this is increasing the country's tourist attractiveness. The most visited sites during this period were Ephesus in Izmir, the Mevlana Museum in Konya, Hierapolis and Pamukkale in Denizli, Göreme and Zelve/Pasabaglari in Cappadocia/Nevşehir.
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