İzmir hosts record number of foreign visitors this year

IZMIR

İzmir has welcomed 1.6 million foreign visitors in the first 10 months of this year, a 15.41 percent increase over the same period last year, marking the highest influx in the past three years, according to data from the Culture and Tourism Ministry.

In October alone, around 198,782 tourists visited the western province, marking a 27.49 percent increase compared to the same month last year.

Germany emerged as the nation with the highest number of visitors to the Aegean city as of October, with around 473,179 German tourists visiting the tourism hub during this 10-month period.

Following Germany, Britain ranked second with 208,710 tourists, while the tourist province hosted approximately 98,993 Polish visitors, making up the third-highest number of foreign visitors to the city.

After Poland came the Netherlands with some 89,478, France with 64,374, Italy with 58,660 and Russia with 49,279 visitors, with the number of tourists from Italy climbing by 318.37 percent compared to the same period last year.

This overall surge in visitor numbers may be attributed to the ministry’s night museum initiative, aiming at showcasing the country’s rich cultural history and unique historical sites to tourists in a completely new setting after dark.

Within the framework of this groundbreaking initiative, İzmir’s ancient city of Ephesus guided countless visitors on a historical journey under the stars this year, with approximately 1.8 million tourists from across the globe and Türkiye immersing themselves in the grandeur of the ancient site during the first eight months.

Attracting thousands of visitors each year, the city has also been ranked among the world’s top 100 brand cities in the "City Index 2024" by Brand Finance, which evaluated urban reputations through a global survey of 15,000 people across 20 countries.

Earning the 97th spot, the city secured its position among the world’s most recognized metropolitan areas.