Tourism boom, Türkiye welcomes 64 million visitors, revenue hits $65.2 billion

Türkiye’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, has announced that the country welcomed nearly 64 million visitors in 2025, generating $65.23 billion in tourism revenue, according to figures revealed at a press conference in İstanbul.

Outlining the sector’s outlook, Ersoy said Türkiye is targeting $68 billion in tourism revenues in 2026, underscoring the country’s growing weight in the global travel market.

Citing data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the minister highlighted Türkiye’s rapid rise in global rankings. The country moved from 8th place in international arrivals in 2017 to 4th place by 2024, while tourism revenue rankings improved from 15th to 7th over the same period.

He stressed that Türkiye’s tourism industry is now a significant global player, not only a regional one.

Ersoy noted the sector’s resilience, saying Türkiye has developed strong crisis-management capabilities and expanded beyond traditional “sea, sand and sun” tourism.

The country now offers a broad portfolio including cultural and faith tourism, eco-tourism, archaeology, health and thermal tourism, gastronomy, congress and exhibition tourism, cruise travel, and winter sports.

He also pointed to innovative initiatives such as the “Heritage for the Future” vision and Night Museum projects, describing them as globally distinctive achievements. Türkiye’s promotional strategy has embraced digital storytelling, with the “miniseries” model gaining international traction.

One episode of the series “An Istanbul Story” attracted 32 million views, while even the least-viewed content exceeded 10 million views, Ersoy said.

Some highlights from Türkiye’s 2025 tourism results: 

Türkiye’s top source markets include the Russian Federation – 6.9 million visitors; Germany – 6.75 million and the United Kingdom – 4.27 million.