Türkiye targets $37 billion in tourism revenues this year

ISTANBUL

Türkiye has revised upwards its tourism revenue target from a previous $35 billion to $37 billion this year, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has said as tourism revenues soared 190 percent in the second quarter.

The country now eyes welcoming 47 million foreign tourists in 2022, also revising this target from a previous 42 million tourists, he also said.

Some had doubted that the targets set for this year could be met amid the conflict in the Black Sea, the minister said, referring to the war between Ukraine and Russia.

“If there will not be any other global troubles, we will revise upward targets again. If things go as we predict, the number of tourists will surpass the 2019 level,” he said.

2019 marked the best year ever for the tourism sector when 51.7 million holidaymakers visited the country and tourism revenues reached $34.5 billion.

Ersoy also said Türkiye fared better than its competitors, such as Spain, Italy and Greece, referring to data comparing the first four months of 2019 and 2020.

Türkiye lost fewer tourists in those periods compared to those countries, he added.

Tourism revenues surge 190 percent

Türkiye’s tourism revenues increased more than 190 percent in the second quarter of 2022 from a year ago to amount to $8.7 billion, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) said on July 29.

That followed the 122 percent annual rise in the first quarter of the year. In January-March, the country’s tourism revenues stood at $5.45 billion.

Foreign visitors accounted for 83.8 percent of all revenues - excluding GSM roaming and marina service expenditures, while the share of citizens residing abroad was 16.2 percent, TÜİK said.

Individual expenditures amounted to $6.3 billion and package tour expenditures stood at $2.44 billion in January-March.

Expenditure per capita was $730 in the second quarter down from $845 in the first quarter of 2022 and slightly below $739 in the same quarter of 2021.

The average spending per night increased from $68 in January-March to $78 in April-June, TÜİK data also showed.

Spending on sports, education and culture grew 456 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, while package tour expenditures leaped more than 330 percent.

Accommodation expenditures exhibited a 186 percent increase and international transport expenditures rose by 174 percent.

Food expenditures and expenditures for transport inside Türkiye increased 143 percent and 155 percent, respectively.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry separately said on July 29 that foreign tourist arrivals in Türkiye surged 145 percent in June from a year ago to 5 million.

In the first half of 2022, 16.4 million foreign tourists visited the country, marking a 186 percent increase on an annual basis.

More than 2 million Germans vacationed in Türkiye in January-June, topping the list of foreign visitors. The country hosted 1.5 million Russians who accounted for 8.9 percent of all arrivals.

Nearly 1.3 million Britons and 1.2 million Bulgarians as well as over 1 million Iranians visited Türkiye in the first half.