Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced the results regarding the third quarter and the first nine months of the country's tourism sector at a press conference held in Istanbul.
In the January-September period, tourism revenue increased by 2.4 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching 51.3 billion US dollars. This is the highest figure for a nine-month period in the country's history. In the third quarter alone, tourism revenue grew by 5 percent, reaching a record 25.5 billion US dollars.
“This year, international tourism faced serious challenges. Conflicts in our region, restrictions on the use of airspace, increases in energy resources and airline ticket prices affected decisions on traveling, as well as the transportation capacities of airlines and the programs of tour operators. Under such circumstances, Turkey stood out as an island of stability.
Since 2018, consistent measures have been taken to increase the tourism sector's resilience to crises. By establishing the Turkey Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA), we put promotional work on a continuous and systematic track, expanded the range of countries from which tourists arrive, and increased the types of tourist offerings. Achieving the highest revenue in our history in the third quarter and the first nine months of such a difficult year demonstrates the effectiveness of this approach. In the future, while maintaining our position in main markets, we will further intensify our activities in markets with great potential, particularly the countries of the American continent, Canada, East Asia, Africa, and Oceania,” said Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.
In the first nine months of the year, the average length of stay of tourists increased by 0.3 percent to 10.34 nights. The average expenditure per night increased by 4.6 percent, reaching 107.7 US dollars. During this period, a total of 49.1 million people visited the country. The Russian Federation (5.70 million), Germany (5.17 million), and the United Kingdom (3.20 million) maintained their positions as the top three countries sending the most tourists to Turkey.
