Tourism Ministry focusing on US market to lure more visitors
ISTANBUL
The Tourism Ministry has been working to attract more American holidaymakers with the aim of luring at least 2.5 million visitors from this large market to Türkiye by 2028.
As part of those efforts, a promotional video named “Istanbul is the new cool” was aired on CNN last week during a break at the first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. The video was prepared by the Türkiye Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) and is running on the GoTürkiye website, the country's official travel guide.
The number of American tourists visiting Türkiye has been rising steadily over the past years. In 2021, Türkiye welcomed more than 370,000 tourists from the U.S. This number grew to 1 million in 2022 and reached 1.33 million last year.
Türkiye aims to host 1.5 million American tourists this year and at least 2.5 million in 2028.
From January to May this year, nearly 390,000 holidaymakers from the U.S. visited Türkiye, accounting for 2.5 percent of all foreign tourist arrivals. The number of American tourists increased by 4.7 percent in the first five months of 2024 from the same period of last year.
Officials at the TGA prepared a detailed report on the U.S. market to identify ways to draw more American tourists.
The report focused on why Americans chose Türkiye, the length of their stay and their favorite destinations in the country.
The report found that Americans are mostly the sea-sun-sand type of holidaymakers, and they go to historical and culturally rich cities. They travel with luxury cruise ships and shop during their visits, according to the report.
Istanbul appears to be the main destination for American tourists for its rich history. The other destination, which draws travelers from the U.S. is Cappadocia.
According to the report, Turkish TV dramas have created interest among Americans for Türkiye. Americans identify Türkiye with history and culture, describing it as an “authentic and exotic” country.
Even though Istanbul and Cappadocia are widely known destinations, the Aegean province of İzmir and the resort town of Kuşadası are becoming popular among American travelers.
Türkiye ranks 18th in the list of most favorite destinations of American holidaymakers with Mexico claiming the first spot. Canada, the U.K., Italy and France are the top 5 destinations for Americans.
Every destination Turkish Airlines flies to is the target market,” Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said.
“We need to run promotion campaigns in 200 countries. For this, we are working with major global networks such as CNN International, the BBC, Euronews, Aljazeera and Bloomberg,” Ersoy said.
Türkiye aims to attract 60 million tourists and generate $60 billion in tourism revenues, which is an important source of hard currency, this year.