Recalling that Türkiye hosted 62.27 million tourists and generated $61.1 billion in tourism revenue in 2024, Minister Ersoy announced the targets for 2025: 65 million tourists and $64 billion in revenue. According to UN World Tourism Organization data, Türkiye ranked fourth globally in international tourist arrivals in 2024.
Visitor numbers down 2.5% in first quarter
Ersoy reported a 2.5% drop in visitor numbers compared to the same period last year, with arrivals falling from 9.07 million in Q1 2024 to 8.84 million in Q1 2025. He attributed the decline to calendar shifts:
"February had 28 days this year compared to 29 last year. Additionally, Ramadan fell in Q1 this year, while Easter shifted to Q2—both of which impacted travel patterns," he explained.
Although Türkiye started April on a strong note, Ersoy noted that recent earthquakes had slowed booking activity.
"Reservation growth, which had reached as high as 16%, has now stabilized at around 6%. We expect this momentum to offset the Q1 decline and turn it into positive growth over the coming months," he said.
Top five source markets in Q1
The top five countries sending tourists to Türkiye in the first quarter of 2025 were:
• Iran: 733,000 visitors
• Russia: 601,000
• Germany: 572,000
• Bulgaria: 506,000
• United Kingdom: 304,000
Ersoy also shared that the average stay duration in this period was 11 days, while average spending per visitor stood at $93.
Tourism revenue rises despite fewer visitors
Despite the drop in visitor numbers, Türkiye’s tourism revenue increased by 5.6%, reaching $9.5 billion in the first quarter of 2025, compared to $8.9 billion during the same period in 2024.
