Türkiye aims to draw more tourists from Asia: Minister

ŞANLIURFA

Türkiye aims to attract more tourists from Asian countries, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has said, adding that the target is to become one of the top three tourist destinations in the world.

The Asian markets are now on Türkiye’s radar, Ersoy said. “We are working on a joint project with Turkish Airlines for the markets we want to grow fast,” the minister added.

According to the latest data from the Culture Ministry, tourist arrivals from Asian countries surged 11.6 percent in the January-April period from a year ago to 2.25 million.

The number of Chinese tourists visiting Türkiye leaped 131 percent year-on-year to 112,000, while the annual increase in Japanese tourists was more than 100 percent to around 34,000. More than 59,000 South Koreans visited Türkiye in the first four months of 2024, marking a 33 percent increase from a year ago.

Tourist arrivals from Indonesia and India rose 6 percent to 29 percent to 77,000 and 85,000, respectively.

Türkiye also aims to draw more high-income tourists from Western countries, Ersoy said.

“In terms of foreign tourist arrivals, Türkiye overtook Italy to claim the fourth spot in the world. Our target is to attract 80 million visitors to become one of the three top destinations in the world,” the minister said, citing Spain as Türkiye’s main competitor.

From January to April, 10.65 million foreign tourists visited Türkiye, marking an 11.75 percent increase from the same period of 2023. Including the Turks residing abroad, the number of visitors reached 12.7 million.

Türkiye aims to attract 60 million visitors and generate $60 billion in tourism revenues this year.