The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism has released the latest visitor statistics for May and the January–May period. According to the data, the number of foreign visitors to Türkiye in May 2025 declined by 1.81% compared to the same month last year, totaling 5.037 million.
Russia leads in May, Germany drops significantly
Russia remained Türkiye’s top source market in May, with 747,000 visitors, marking a modest 0.83% increase. It was followed by:
• Germany: 597,000 visitors (down 18.12%)
• United Kingdom: 547,000 visitors (down 0.63%)
• Poland: 237,000 visitors (up 4.09%)
• Iran: 232,000 visitors (up 5.18%)
Visitor numbers down in first five months
In the first five months of the year, Türkiye welcomed 15.627 million foreign visitors, representing a 0.99% year-on-year decline.
Germany led all source markets in this period with 1.74 million visitors (down 6%), followed closely by:
• Russia: 1.722 million (down 5.23%)
• UK: 1.224 million (up 1.27%)
• Iran: 1.179 million (up nearly 1%)
• USA: 437,000 (up 12.33%)
• Poland: 417,000 (up 5.97%)
Sharp growth from Israel despite regional tensions
Despite escalating regional tensions due to Israeli military actions against Iran, visitor arrivals from Israel rose by nearly 39% in the first five months, reaching close to 35,000.
Multiple source markets show decline
Türkiye experienced a downturn in several key markets during the January–May period. Notable declines include:
• Saudi Arabia: −5.12%
• Kuwait: −29%
• India: −8.81%
• Germany: −6%
• Denmark: −11.20%
• Greece: −13%
• Hungary: −5%
• Bulgaria: −10.5%
• Azerbaijan: −5%
• Georgia: −15.5%
• Kazakhstan: −10.39%
• Tajikistan: −61%
• Russia: −5.23%
• Ukraine: −5.23%
Total arrivals exceed 17.7 million including Turkish citizens abroad
In the first quarter of 2025, Türkiye hosted 2.154 million Turkish citizens residing abroad, representing a 6.38% increase compared to the same period last year. Combined with foreign visitors, total arrivals reached 17.781 million in the first five months.
