Türkish authorities are "determined" to reach targets of hosting 65 million visitors this year and achieving $64 billion in revenues, according to the Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy on Wednesday.
"Türkiye continues to break records in tourism. We are determined to achieve the target of 65 million visitors and $64 billion (TL 2.33 trillion) in revenue by the end of 2025," he said.
Türkiye welcomed 62.3 million visitors in 2024, generating at the same time $61.1 billion in tourism revenues, up approximately 8% year-over-year.
Speaking to reporters at ITB Berlin, considered the world's largest tourism trade fair, Ersoy evaluated the rising momentum in the domestic sector, touching upon figures in recent years.
While recalling data for the last year, Ersoy said that the nightly income per person increased from $83 in 2017 to $108 in 2024, an uptick of 31%.
He also noted that early reservations for Türkiye from German and Russian holidaymakers are particularly strong, mentioning that Türkiye ranks as the top second destination for German tourists, just after Spain.
Ersoy said that 6.7 million visitors came from Russia and 6.6 million from Germany in 2024, while the U.K. ranked third with 4.4 million visitors.
"We expect to welcome more than 7 million visitors both from Germany and Russia this year," the minister further said, adding he expected these two markets to remain at the forefront this year.
Touching upon the early reservations coming from the Russian market, which he said were higher than last year, Ersoy attributed the recent 20% appreciation of the ruble to growing interest in Türkiye.
He also highlighted the importance of gastronomy, cultural heritage and alternative tourism products to spread tourism throughout the year and carry tourism to all 81 provinces of Türkiye, stating that projects such as archaeological excavations and night museums also attracted great interest.
The minister also said that Türkiye has become the country with the most excavations in the world and announced that the number of excavation points will increase to 800 by 2026.
"We aim to complete as much excavation work as the excavations carried out in the last 60 years in the next four years," he said, pointing out that cultural tourism is one of the country's strongest areas.
He also mentioned that some 4.8 million British tourists are expected to visit Türkiye this year while evaluating momentum in the markets classified as distant markets, including the U.S. and China.
He said that the Chinese market grew by over 60% last year and that this increase would continue as the number of flights increased. According to the minister, the U.S. market grew by 20% as of January.
Reiterating that 70% of visitors to Türkiye come via air, Ersoy suggested that airline capacity should be increased in line with the goal of 100 million visitors and $100 billion in revenue in the future.
