60 million tourist target still within reach: Association head

ISTANBUL

Türkiye's aim to attract 60 million tourists is feasible, though tourism revenues may fall short of the target of $60 billion, according to Oya Narin, the president of the Turkish Tourism Investors Association.

“Although the number of tourists coming from Russia has decreased in the last 2-3 years, we are performing better in terms of revenue in October and November,” she told state-run Anadolu Agency.

Some 35.8 million foreigners visited Türkiye in the first eight months of 2024, up 10.4 percent from a year ago, with tourist arrivals rising 2.5 percent to 6.8 million in August.

Around 940,000 Russians vacationed in the country in January-August, according to official data.

“People with health needs show great interest in Türkiye due to our infrastructure and marketing, however, we need to target the older demographic in Europe as well,” Narin said.

Narin mentioned that areas that otherwise attract tourists are not as lively in winter and that the health care infrastructure in those coastal areas needs to be improved to attract older tourists.

“First, the costs of achieving this will be our biggest test in 2025, and second, finding the methods to make the sector more attractive for human resources, for our performance will depend on these two factors,” she added.

The domestic tourism market volume of countries worldwide is expected to reach $7.5 trillion in 2033, Narin also said, noting that the world’s international tourism market volume reached $10.5 trillion.