Local tourists travel less, spend more

ANKARA – Anatolia News Agency

The average overnight stay was 10.9 nights and the average expenditure for the trips was 301 Turkish Liras. Hürriyet photo

Domestic tourists in Turkey spent $7.6 billion in the third quarter of 2012, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) said today in its quarterly report.

Although the number of domestic trips plunged by 7.3 percent compared to the same period in the previous year, trip expenditures increased by 2.1 percent.

Some 25.5 million trips – in which travelers stayed one or more nights – were taken by Turks or foreigners residing in Turkey during the period.

“Visiting relatives” was the main purpose of trips taken at 61.9 percent, the second-most-common purpose was “travel-leisure (holiday)” at 30.1 percent while the third was “health” at 3.8 percent.

The average overnight stay was 10.9 nights and the average expenditure for the trips was 301 Turkish Liras.