Senior executives from Trip.com, Booking.com and Expedia have shared their assessments of Türkiye’s tourism market, highlighting changing source markets, pricing dynamics, booking patterns, consumer expectations and the growing role of technology.
The executives discussed Türkiye’s position in global tourism markets, the balance between price and quality, shortening booking windows, destination diversification, artificial intelligence and the role of online travel agencies (OTAs) in providing access to international travelers and consumer data.
Booking.com: Türkiye is Mümoving toward a higher-value destination
Bircan Kaan, Country Manager for Booking.com Türkiye, said online travel platforms continue to generate significant visitor flows to Türkiye from international markets. According to Kaan, Türkiye is increasingly positioned as a higher-value destination, supported by its broad tourism offering and destinations such as Istanbul.
Germany, UK and Russia remain key markets
Germany, the UK and Russia continue to be among Türkiye’s main source markets. At the same time, the US, Canada, France, Spain, Italy and Romania are emerging as markets with further potential.
Kaan highlighted the role of online platforms in addressing one of the sector’s long-standing challenges: seasonality. Greater visibility across international markets can help destinations and tourism businesses reach travelers beyond traditional peak periods.
Price increases raise the importance of ouality
Türkiye has experienced price increases while competing with destinations such as Spain and Greece. Kaan described this as part of the country’s transition from a traditionally lower-cost destination toward a higher-value tourism proposition.
He emphasized that this transition needs to be sustainable, identifying a deterioration in the price-quality balance as one of the key risks.
As prices increase, the quality of the experience offered to travelers also needs to rise accordingly. Maintaining this balance is therefore becoming increasingly important for Türkiye’s positioning in international tourism markets.
Consumers demand both price and booking flexibility
Changing consumer behavior is also reshaping tourism segmentation. Kaan pointed to the growing influence of Generation Z and the increasing prevalence of different family groups traveling together.
Travelers are increasingly seeking both competitive prices and flexibility in their bookings. Some customers who are willing to pay more for flexible booking conditions may subsequently reduce spending on other components of their trip, such as airport transfers, by opting for public transportation.
Real hotel images remain important
Kaan also highlighted the importance of visibility and discoverability for accommodation providers on online marketplaces.
He said hotels should prioritize using authentic photographs rather than AI-generated images in their promotional materials. According to Kaan, consumers increasingly expect transparent and accurate information when evaluating accommodation options.
Expedia: Booking windows have shortened to 20 days
Aslı Şehirli Acarkan, Regional Manager for Expedia Türkiye, said Türkiye is currently the most searched country on Expedia across the EMEA region, covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Antalya and Istanbul lead, while new destinations gain attention
Antalya and Istanbul remain among the leading destinations in searches. However, Acarkan noted that destinations such as Ayvalık and Didim have also emerged among the destinations attracting attention this year.
Germany, the US, the UK and Saudi Arabia were identified as leading source markets for Türkiye on the platform.
Early booking trend losing momentum
Acarkan said the travel market has undergone significant changes since the pandemic, followed by the effects of geopolitical tensions and the climate crisis.
Against this backdrop, the traditional tendency toward early booking has weakened. Accommodation booking windows have shortened, with searches increasingly taking place around 20 days before the planned stay.
This shorter booking depth reflects a more cautious and flexible approach among travelers when making accommodation decisions.
Travelers are choosing multiple hotels on one trip
Another trend highlighted by Expedia is the growing preference for staying in more than one hotel during the same trip.
Travelers are increasingly combining different destinations or regions and choosing multiple accommodation properties in order to diversify their experiences.
Acarkan also stressed the importance of price parity, saying hotels should maintain consistent pricing across distribution channels. Providing service quality that matches the price paid is also critical to maintaining destination loyalty, she said.
Expedia and TGA cooperate on Türkiye ğromotion
Expedia is working closely with the Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) on destination marketing activities
The cooperation includes promotional campaigns on popular digital platforms, supported by discounts provided by hotels participating in the campaigns.
Trip.com: Far east markets offer potential for year-round tourism
Abdullah Kural, Türkiye and Greece Manager at Trip.com, said China and other Far East markets are among the platform’s core markets, while growth is also being recorded across Europe and the Middle East.
Istanbul and Antalya remain popular
In Türkiye, Istanbul and Antalya continue to attract high search volumes. Bursa and Izmir have also reached significant levels of search activity on the platform.
Kural highlighted China and other Far East markets as an important opportunity for Türkiye’s objective of spreading tourism activity across all 12 months of the year.
Geopolitical developments shorten booking periods
According to Kural, booking windows have shortened following regional developments and the Iran crisis.
Families and couples account for approximately 60% of Trip.com reservations in Türkiye. The average length of stay ranges between two and 2.5 days. Travelers also frequently prefer multi-destination itineraries combining Istanbul, Antalya and Cappadocia.
OTAs P-provide both global reach and consumer data
Kural emphasized the importance of shifting toward experience- and value-oriented tourism.
He said OTAs serve accommodation providers not only as distribution channels that provide access to international markets, but also as sources of customer behavior data.
Information on travelers’ countries of origin, length of stay and booking habits can be shared with accommodation businesses and used to support operational planning.
Türkiye’s tourism öarket is becoming more data-driven
The assessments from Booking.com, Expedia and Trip.com highlight several common developments in Türkiye’s tourism market: changing source-market dynamics, shorter booking windows, greater demand for flexibility, stronger interest in destination diversification and increasing attention to the relationship between price and service quality.
