Türkiye aims to attract 7 mln German tourists: Minister

BERLIN

Türkiye aims to attract at least 7 million tourists from Germany alone this year, when it hopes to welcome 60 million foriegn visitors, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Ersoy has said.

“Germany is an import market for the Turkish tourism industry. Initial indicators [from the German market] for 2024 are promising,” Ersoy said, speaking on the sidelines of the International Tourism Exchange (ITB) in Berlin, adding that early reservations are up more than 20 percent.

In 2023, 6.2 million German nationals vacationed in Türkiye, rising from 5.7 million visitors in the previous year.

In January of 2024, the number of German tourists increased by 2 percent year-on-year to around 143,000, according to the data from the Tourism Ministry.

“We are hoping to welcome more than 7 million Germans this year. We have set ambitious targets for 2024, including 60 million foreign visitors and $60 million in tourism revenues,” Ersoy said.

Tourism revenues hit an all-time high of $54.32 billion in 2023.

Türkiye aims to increase its share in the European tourism market, the minister said, adding that Far Eastern markets are also on the country’s radar.

The minister recalled that Türkiye aims to increase its tourism revenues to $100 billion in 2028.

The data regarding passenger traffic at the Turkish airports in February are very “good,” there is a strong increase compared to the same month of last year, Ersoy said.

“The numbers for March are better than February. If this trend continues, we will meet our tourism revenue target of $60 billion set for 2024,” the minister said.