Record number of British tourists to visit Türkiye: Envoy

Seda Türkoğlu-ISTANBUL

A record number of British tourists are expected to visit Türkiye this year, according to Jill Morris, the British ambassador to Türkiye.

She noted that more than 3 million Britons vacationed in Türkiye last year, surpassing the pre-pandemic levels.

“Türkiye remains the British tourists’ favorite holiday destination. We are expecting more than 4 million tourists from the U.K. to visit Türkiye this year. I hope that this upward trend will continue,” Morris said.

The envoy noted that the number of British tourists visiting Türkiye has been on the rise since 2018.

“At that time, some 2.3 million Britons visited the country. In 2019, this number rose above 2.5 million. However, global tourism plunged in 2019 and 2020 due to the pandemic,” she said, adding that the number of British tourists surged again last year, even surpassing the pre-pandemic levels.

“Of course, Türkiye attracts British people with its warm weather, beautiful beaches, and wonderful culture. Türkiye has a lot to offer. I am discussing with the Turkish Tourism Ministry how we can work together to promote the different parts and diversity of Türkiye in the U.K.,” she said.

Morris is currently on a tour to Türkiye’s Aegean and Mediterranean coasts.

She will be traveling to the provinces of İzmir, Aydın, Muğla and Antalya, as well as the major holiday destinations of Bodrum, Marmaris and Fethiye.

During her tour, she will hold talks with governors, mayors and police chiefs to talk about the “excellent” support they provide to consulate staff when British citizens need help. “One of my priorities is to thank them for their outstanding efforts to ensure the safety of British citizens visiting Türkiye.”

 Cooperation between Türkiye and UK

The envoy pointed out that the cooperation between Türkiye and the U.K. in a wide range of fields - including clean energy technologies, agriculture technologies - aviation and mining is very strong.

İzmir has become a center of onshore wind power energy, and it has set a similar target for offshore wind power, Morris noted.

“There is a potential for cooperation for offshore wind power between Türkiye and the U.K. which is the leader in this field in Europe.”

She noted that representatives from Türkiye’s leading energy companies traveled to Scotland at the start of this year to discuss trade and investment prospects.

“We believe we can build together Türkiye’s first offshore wind power facility and make Türkiye a regional center in offshore wind energy supply chains,” Morris said.