Türkiye recorded a decline in inbound tourism in February, according to data released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, while overall figures for the first two months of 2026 showed only marginal growth.
The number of visitors arriving in February fell by 2.08% year-on-year to 2.126 million. Iran ranked as the top source market during the month with 205,000 visitors, followed by Germany (176,000), the Russian Federation (171,000), Bulgaria (158,000), and Georgia (93,000).
For the January–February period, total foreign visitor arrivals rose slightly by 0.70% to 4.373 million. Iran remained the leading market with 430,000 visitors, followed by the Russian Federation (392,000), Germany (337,000), Bulgaria (330,000), and Georgia (182,000).
Top declining source markets
Despite the overall increase, several important source markets recorded significant declines in the first two months of 2026. The steepest drops were seen in Kuwait (-36.70%), Qatar (-32.21%), Bahrain (-26.31%), Libya (-19.62%), and the United Arab Emirates (-19.21%).
Other notable declines included Jordan (-18.28%), Indonesia (-17.66%), Morocco (-12.82%), Tunisia (-12.79%), Lebanon (-12.90%), India (-12.81%), and Iran (-7.22%), the latter being particularly critical as one of Türkiye’s largest source markets.
European markets such as the United Kingdom (-7.14%), France (-5.60%), and Ukraine (-5.62%) also posted declines.
Strong growth from emerging and secondary markets
On the upside, several markets posted strong growth. China led with a 52.13% increase, followed by Poland (+21.79%) and Colombia (+19.50%). Other notable gains came from Romania (+13.10%), Sweden (+13.11%), Singapore (+13.83%), Finland (+10.87%), Portugal (+10.65%), and Northern Cyprus (+10.05%).
Among Türkiye’s major markets, the United States grew by 6.20%, Russia by 5.56%, Germany by 2.28%, Bulgaria by 4.43%, and Georgia by 8.35%.
Update on emerging markets
In the first two months of 2026, Türkiye welcomed approximately 122,000 visitors from the United States (+6.20%). Arrivals from South Korea declined by 2.30% to 33,000, while India saw a sharper drop of 12.81% to around 28,000 visitors.
Japan recorded a 6.55% increase with 22,000 visitors, Canada rose by 3.36% to 27,000, and Australia saw a slight decline of 0.7%, with approximately 13,000 visitors.
Overall, the data highlights a fragile recovery pattern, with growth driven by secondary markets while core and high-spending regions—particularly in the Middle East—continue to weaken.
