Germans, Brits eye Turkish coasts for holiday

ISTANBUL

The global tourism growth expectations for 2024 are already visible in the first two months of this year, and Türkiye, a strong tourism country in the Mediterranean basin, is expected to have a significant share in this growth.

The tourism sector started its summer season at the end of March and plans to extend it until the end of November. They predict leaving behind the difficult year of 2023 with better data.

Germans are expected to be the most prominent tourist group this year. The British are also expected to continue their trend from the last two years. Russians are expected to match last season's numbers, and a good flow of tourists is expected from Europe in general.

Luxury group hotels will also attract the attention of U.S. tourists.

In 2023, Türkiye's tourism revenue was $54.3 billion, and it hosted 56.7 million tourists. The target for 2024 is to attract 60 million tourists and generate $60 billion in tourism revenue.

In the first two months of the year, January and February, Türkiye had the highest number of tourist arrivals to date, with 4,341,606 visitors.

Foreign airline companies have opened 15 percent more seats for British tourists visiting the Western Mediterranean this year compared to last year. In the January-December period of 2023, 3.8 million Britons vacationed in Türkiye. The additional 250,000 seats are expected to bring the number of British tourists visiting Türkiye to 4 million in 2024.

According to Özgen Uysal of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB), the region is expected to have a better year than 2023. He stated that the number of Russian tourists will remain the same as last year, and domestic tourists will follow the fluctuations in foreign currency.

The Antalya/Alanya region is expected to be dominated by German tourists this season as it expects to host between 17 million and 17.5 million tourists.

“The facilities have opened earlier, and the season will be longer. An increase in tourists from all source markets is anticipated, with Germans at the top, followed by the British,” said Burhan Sili, president of Alanya Touristic Operators Association (ALTID).