Tourists visiting Turkey in the first half of the year spent about $1.2 billion on clothing and footwear. According to Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data, 13,708,152 people from abroad, including 2,260,827 Turkish citizens, visited Turkey from January to June.
Tourism revenue was $8.8 billion in this period, with $6.8 billion from foreign visitors and about $2 billion from Turkish citizens visiting from abroad. Personal expenditures of tourists reached $7.5 billion, while tour package expenditures reached $1.2 billion.
The food and beverage sector attracted the highest amount as tourists spent $1.97 billion followed by international transportation at $1.326 billion and accommodation at $1.036 billion.
Foreign citizens and Turkish citizens living abroad spent $390 million on health in Turkey and $618 million on domestic transportation. Tourist spending on sports, education and culture in Turkey exceeded $95 million.
While 13.2 percent of tourist spending ($1,175,753,000) went for clothing and footwear in the first half the year, souvenirs constituted 5.4 percent of their expenditures, at $477,058,000. While other spending reached $327 million, they paid $46 million for carpets and rugs.
$10 out of every $100 spent on souvenirs
Tourism expenses, which consist of the expenditures of citizens living in the country and visiting other countries, amounted to $2.2 billion in the first half of the year. Personal spending amounted to $1.724 billion in tourism expenses and package tour spending reached $520 million.
People allocated 50 percent of their personal overseas spending to food, accommodation and souvenirs, as $443 million was allocated to accommodation, $439 million to food and drinks and $212 million to souvenirs; $10 of every $100 was spent on souvenirs.
