Turkey’s tourism revenue falls 29.7 pct in 2016 amid sharp plunge in arrivals

ANKARA

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Turkey’s tourism revenue dropped to $22.1 billion in 2016, a 29.7 percent decrease compared to 2015, as the number of foreign arrivals to the country witnessed a dramatic plunge, official data showed Jan. 31. 

While some 72.8 percent of the revenue was obtained from foreign visitors, the remaining 27.2 percent was obtained from Turkish citizens who reside abroad, according to data from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK). 

In the fourth quarter of 2016, tourism revenue decreased by 27.2 percent to $4.8 billion, according to TÜİK data. 

The number of foreign people visiting Turkey declined to 25.3 million in 2016, a 30 percent drop compared to 2015, after a series of bomb attacks, a diplomatic crisis with Russia, and the failed July 15 military coup attempt, showed data from the Tourism Ministry.

The number of Russian tourists visiting Turkey saw a 76.2 percent decline in 2016, plummeting to 866,256. However, a visible increase has been seen in arrivals since normalization started in bilateral ties between the two countries, according to the ministry data, which was revealed on Jan. 31 as well. 

Germany became the top largest tourist sender for Turkey, with around 3.9 million tourists visiting the country, although Turkey saw an around 35 percent of decline in the number of arrivals from Europe. Georgia followed Germany, with more than 2.2 million Georgians visiting the country in 2016. 

The United Kingdom was the third largest source of foreign arrivals to Turkey, with over 1.7 million tourists visiting Turkey, according to the ministry data. 

In 2016, the number of departing visitors decreased 24.6 percent compared to the previous year and declined to 31.4 million, according to TÜİK data.

While some 80.6 percent of visitors were foreign, the remaining 19.4 percent was comprised of Turkish citizens who reside abroad. 

The TÜİK data also revealed that the number of Turkish citizens traveling abroad last year fell to 7.9 million people, a 9.8 percent decrease compared to 2015.