Turkish tourism revenue records $54.3B in 2023

49.2 million foreign visitors

According to the Culture and Tourism Ministry, Türkiye welcomed 49.2 million foreign tourists in 2023, hiking 10.4% from the previous year.

The figure exceeded its pre-pandemic period level of 45 million in 2019, the ministry data released on Wednesday showed.

Istanbul, Türkiye’s largest city by population, was the top tourist draw, attracting 17.4 million foreign visitors last year.

The famed resort city of Antalya on the Turkish Riviera ranked second with 14.8 million foreign visitors in 2023.

The northwestern province of Edirne, which borders both Bulgaria and Greece and the Aegean province of Mugla followed them with 4.7 million and 3.3 million, respectively.

Russians made up 12.8% of all foreign visitors or at 6.3 million, rising 20.7% from the previous year.

It was followed by Germans at 6.2 million (up 9% annually), Britons at 3.8 million (up 12.8%), Bulgarians at 2.9 million (up 0.4%), and Iranians at 2.5 million (up 7.4%).