Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Minister, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has announced that Turkey has recorded its highest ever first-quarter tourism income. This is according to official data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).
5.6% higher income than a year ago
Total tourism income during the January – March period of 2025 was recorded at 363.7 billion Turkish Lira ($9.45 billion USD). This was a 5.6% increase when compared to the same period in 2024 and sets a new record for the country.
Eight million people visit Turkey in Q1
Separate statistics showed that 8.84 million tourists visited Turkey during the first quarter of the year, including three million in the month of March alone. Of these visitors, 6.6 million were foreign nationals enjoying tourism, while the rest were Turkish nationals living abroad who come home to visit family.
TurkStat data also showed that average expenditure had increased by 4.8% year-over-year, reaching $1,022 USD per capita. Total income reached $9.45 billion USD for the first three months of the year – $9.32 billion USD from tourist expenditures and $127 million USD from visitors transferring.
65 million tourists targeted in 2025
At the start of the year, the Turkish Government announced 2025 record targets, including a total of 65 million visitors and $64 billion USD in tourism revenue for the entire year. Last year, Turkey welcomed 62.3 million visitors, including 52.6 million foreign nationals and 9.7 million Turkish nationals who live abroad.
This made Turkey the fourth most-visited country in the world in 2024. Last year, tourism income increased by 8.3%, reaching $61.1 billion USD in total, another new record over the previous 2023 total of $54.3 billion USD.
Tourism is a vital industry in Turkey, contributing around 10% of total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and accounting for just over 5% of total employment in the country.
Bodrum 
3 
2 
X