UK visits to Turkey rose by nearly a fifth during the first six months of 2024, the country’s tourist board has said.
A total of 1.8 million UK tourists entered the country during the period to the end of 30 June, up 19 year-on-year. It makes the UK Turkey’s third-biggest market.
The UK increase is running ahead of the global trend, with the total number of visitors to Turkey to the end of June standing at 26.1 million, a rise of 13.9% year-on-year.
Minister of culture and tourism Mehment Nuri Ersoy said Turkey saw tourism revenues in the same period grow 9.3% to £18.5 billion, with average daily expenditure per visitor reaching £76.
The country aims to achieve 60 million visitors and £47 billion in revenue this year. It achieved 56.7 million visits in 2023.
Turkey remains open to Russian tourists, with more than 2.7 million visiting in the six months to the end of June, up 3% and the country’s number one market.
DUring the same period, the number of German visitors exceeded 2.5 million, up 9% and Turkey’s second-biggest market.
Turkey achieved its biggest growth in the Chinese market, hosting more than 187,000 visitors, a 111% increase compared to the same period last year.
More than 56,000 Japanese visitors visited Turkey in the first six months of 2024, up 96%.