Türkiye exceeded its official tourism targets in 2025, posting record revenues of over $65 billion despite reservation losses linked to regional conflicts, climate-driven seasonal shifts and an April earthquake in Istanbul, official data showed on Friday.
According to the Culture and Tourism Ministry, Türkiye welcomed record 52.78 million foreign tourists in 2025, up 0.3% year-over-year, while total visitor numbers rose 2.7% to a new all-time high of 63.94 million.
Data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) showed tourism revenues increased 6.8% to $65.23 billion, surpassing the government's Medium-Term Program (OVP) target of $64 billion.
The industry plays a critical role in narrowing Türkiye's current account deficit. The government had aimed for 65 million total visitors and $64 billion in tourism income for 2025.
Foreign arrivals hit 52.6 million last year, surpassing the previous record of 49.2 million in 2023. The total number of visitors stood at 62.3 million in 2024.
Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said the 2025 performance in both tourism and exports continued to support the government's goal of achieving a sustainable current account balance.
Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said the tourism revenues have surpassed the long-awaited $65-billion threshold.
"The 2025 figures marked the highest tourism revenue and visitor numbers in the history of the Republic," Ersoy said.
"Despite regional wars, including tensions between India and Pakistan and between Israel and Iran, seasonal disruptions caused by global warming, and reservation cancellations following the Istanbul earthquake in April, we managed to close 2025 above 2024 levels," he added.
He added that swift policy responses and market diversification helped offset losses in bookings and demand during the year.
For 2026, Ersoy said Türkiye is targeting $68 billion in tourism revenue, implying growth of more than 4%.
He said the government expects double-digit growth in both core and long-haul markets, naming Russia, Spain, Italy, Ireland, the United States, Canada, China, Japan and South Korea.
According to ministry data, Russia remained Türkiye's largest source market in 2025 with 6.9 million visitors, followed by Germany (6.75 million) and the United Kingdom (4.27 million).
The TurkStat data showed that average spending per visitor rose 3.7% to $1,008 in 2025, while nighly spending reached $100, up from $96.5 in 2024.
Şimşek attributed the increase to the policies "aimed at spreading tourism across all four seasons and different areas."
Tourism is a vital industry that Türkiye relies on to help flip its chronic current account deficit to a surplus.
The sector contributes about 10% to Türkiye's gross domestic product (GDP) and accounts for about 5% of total employment.
