Over 4.3 million foreign tourists visit Türkiye in two months

ISTANBUL

Some 4.34 million foreign tourists visited Türkiye in January-February, almost unchanged from the same period of last year, according to the latest numbers from the Tourism and Culture Ministry on March 21.

In February alone, foreign tourist arrivals declined by 5.3 percent annually to 2.17 million, after rising more than 6 percent year-on-year to 2.17 million in January.

Türkiye aims for 65 million visitors and $64 billion in tourism revenues in 2025. Last year, the country welcomed 62.2 million visitors, including Turks residing abroad, and generated $61.1 billion, up 8.3 percent compared to 2023.

Iranians topped the list of foreign tourists in February at 223,222, down 1 percent annually. Russians claimed the second spot at 179,512, which translated into a 4 percent decline from February last year.

Bulgarians and Germans constituted the third and fourth largest groups of visitors at 168,000 and 150,280, respectively.

The number of tourists from Russia, one of Türkiye’s main source markets, plunged 14 percent year-on-year in the first two months of 2025 to 371,344. Russians accounted for 8.6 percent of all foreign tourist arrivals in January-February.

Iranians made up 10.7 percent of foreign tourists, or 464,000, showed the data.

Türkiye welcomed more than 316,000 German tourists during this period, down 8 percent annually.

Istanbul was the most favored destination for international travelers in January-February. Some 2.52 million foreign tourists visited the city.

It was followed by Edirne in northwestern Türkiye, which borders both Bulgaria and Greece at 466,000.

The Mediterranean resort city of Antalya captured a share of 8.6 percent, or 372,454 people, in total arrivals.