WNAM REPORT: Turkey’s tourism sector has seen unprecedented growth in 2024, setting new records in both visitor numbers and revenue. The country welcomed more than 62.2 million foreign visitors, exceeding not only the previous year’s figures by 9.8% but also the pre-pandemic level of 2019 by an impressive 20.3%, the press service of the Turkish Cultural Center in Ashgabat told.
Tourism revenues reached US$61.1 billion, up 8.3% year-on-year. Most notably, the actual results exceeded even the government’s most optimistic forecasts, which were revised to 61 million visitors in October 2024.
Traditional markets – Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia – retained their leading positions, with Russia, Germany and the UK remaining key source countries. However, it was the significant growth in visitors from new destinations that was particularly noteworthy: the US showed an increase of 8.1%, China demonstrated an impressive growth of 65.1% and the flow of tourists from India increased by 20.7%.
The quality indicators are also impressive: on average, foreign visitors spent 10.7 days in Turkey, and the income per visitor was US$972. The success of Turkey’s tourism industry has received international recognition – according to the UN World Tourism Organization, the country is among the top 5 most visited destinations in the world.
