The number of foreign arrivals in Istanbul extended its positive streak, as the Turkish metropolis welcomed nearly 10.5 million tourists in the seven months of 2024, marking a 7% increase compared to the same period last year, according to official data released by the Istanbul Directorate of Culture and Tourism.
The number of tourists in the city reached 10.47 million in January-July this year, compared to 9.77 million in the same period last year.
Looking at the monthly data, Istanbul also recorded an increase in the number of tourists it hosted this year in July, which reached 1.9 million in, compared to 1.87 million in the same month in 2023, an increase of 1.7%.
The highest number of arrivals in the seventh month of the year was by air, with 1.83 million, while some 72,000 tourists travelled to the city by sea.
Among the travelers who arrived by air in Istanbul, about 1.32 million arrived at Istanbul Airport, about 507,500 at Sabiha Gökçen Airport and 1,673 at Atatürk Airport, according to the data.
Proportionally, of those who arrived in the city by air, 72.21% preferred Istanbul Airport and 27.69% used Sabiha Gökçen International Airport.
Russians topped the list of arrivals in Istanbul in July with 192,018 visitors. They were followed by Germans with 153,861 and tourists from the US with 114,412. Next on the list were arrivals from Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Kingdom, France, Uzbekistan, the Netherlands, Iraq and Italy.
The number of foreign visitors visiting Turkey as a whole in July reached an all-time high on a monthly basis. More specifically, the country welcomed 7.3 million tourists in the seventh month of the year, an increase of 2.6% year-on-year.
Between January and July, the total number of foreign visitors increased by 8.27% year-on-year to 28.98 million – a clear indication of the strong recovery of the sector and the country’s growing attractiveness.
Combined with the 4.49 million Turkish citizens who arrived in Turkey from abroad, the total number of visitors to the country reached 33.47 million, according to the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
The country’s authorities expect arrivals to reach 60 million by the end of the year and are targeting $60 billion in revenue.
