Turkey is proving popular, with the number of German visitors already showing double-digit growth, according to new statistics. In general, Turkey has seen a strong attraction of foreign tourists in recent times.
Overall, the Mediterranean destination saw a strong increase in foreign tourists in January and February compared to the previous year. Germans flocked to the country, with a 14.8% rise to almost 331,000 arrivals in the first two months of the year. In contrast, the number of Russian tourists dropped by 14.6% year-on-year to almost 434,000. The number of arrivals from Iran surged by 94% to about 438,000 people, according to the statistics. The number of visitors from Bulgaria increased by 8.6% to 345,000.
In terms of individual destinations, Istanbul was by far the most popular place for international visitors. The metropolis welcomed nearly 2.5 million people, accounting for 57% of all foreign tourist arrivals. On the southern coast, Antalya accounted for 9.2% of total foreign tourist visits. In the first two months of 2024, more than 400,000 foreigners went on holiday to the tourist stronghold.
For 2024, German tour operators are planning with similarly high growth. TUI Germany alone wants to bring more than one million customers to the country for the first time, according to CEO Stefan Baumert. The visitor statistics confirm the Turkish tourism industry’s optimism about Germany. There was already good growth from the German market last year, as the number of visitors to Turkey increased by 9% to 6.2 million. This made Germany the top source market for Turkey, ahead of Russia.
DER Touristik Central Europe CEO Ingo Burmester also expects one million guests for Turkey, although for the group as a whole.
