The number of visitors to the Mediterranean country increased by 13.9% in the first six months of 2024.
The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced Türkiye’s 2024 first-half results at a press conference in İstanbul. Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Minister of Culture and Tourism, said that the number of visitors to Türkiye in the first half of 2024 had increased by 13.9% year-on-year to 26.1 million. Türkiye’s tourism revenues in the same period showed an 9.3% growth to 23.7 billion USD. Türkiye’s average daily expenditure per visitor reached to a 98 USD. Minister Ersoy said that the first 6 months’ results confirmed Türkiye’s commitment to its year-end target of 60 million visitors and 60 billion USD in revenues.
Türkiye achieved strong growth in key target markets
Russia, Germany and the United Kingdom, Türkiye’s traditional biggest markets, have all continued to grow as visitors flocked to Türkiye’s major tourism hubs Antalya, İstanbul, İzmir, and Muğla. More than 2.7 million Russians chose Türkiye as their holiday destination, creating a 3% growth between January and June 2024. In the same period, the number of German visitors exceeded 2.5 million, and the growth in the German market was 9%. The United Kingdom, Türkiye’s third biggest market, showed a 19% growth as almost 1.8 million Brits visited Türkiye in the first half of the year. Türkiye achieved its biggest growth in the Chinese market, hosting more than 187.000 visitors, with a 111% increase compared to the same period last year. More than 56.000 Japanese visitors visited Türkiye in the first 6 months of 2024, which is %96 more than the same period of 2023.
Demand for cultural heritage is also on the rise
The priceless historical, cultural, and archaeological heritage of Türkiye arouses curiosity worldwide. In the first six months of 2024, Türkiye’s museums and historical sites hosted nearly 14 million visitors, an increase of 12% compared to the same period of the previous year. Türkiye’s most visited heritage sites in this period were Ephesus in İzmir, Mevlana Museum in Konya, Hierapolis & Pamukkale in Denizli, Göreme and Zelve/Paşabağları in Cappadocia/ Nevşehir.
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