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Turkey Welcomed a Record Number of Visitors in 2019

Turkey’s statistical authority published a new report regarding the performance of the country’s tourism industry in 2019. It turns out that last year set a new record in the number of tourist arrivals and tourism income. This is one more proof of the developing tourism industry in Turkey. So, as many as 51 million 860 thousand and 42 tourists visited Turkey in 2019. This result is 13.7% higher than a year ago. The majority of visitors were foreigners – 86.2% or 44,717,920 people. The remaining 13.8% of people (7,147,072 persons) were the citizens of Turkey who live abroad permanently.

Hotels in Istanbul, Izmir, and other popular destinations enjoyed higher revenues in 2019 because tourists spent a record amount of money during their visits to Turkey. The total income from tourism reached US$34 billion 520 million 332 thousand. This is 17.0% more than a year ago. Individual tourists spent more than tourists with organized tour packages – US$25 billion 355 million 577 thousand vs. US$9 billion 164 million 755 thousand.

Once again, foreign guests brought more income to the country than Turkish citizens living abroad. The share of foreign tourists in the total income is 83.3%, while the share of citizens who are residents of other countries is 16.7%. By the way, Turkey is often regarded as a popular summer vacation destination. The country is famous for its beachside resorts and all-inclusive hotels. However, October, November, and December had the highest increase in tourist income of 20.6% (US$7 billion 885 million 568 thousand in total).

Individual tourists dominated in the fourth quarter, just like during the rest of the year. Individual travelers brought US$5,804,853,000 to the country, and organized tourist groups brought an income of US$2,080,715,000. During the fourth quarter, tour service expenditures had the highest growth compared to 2018. If taking the whole year into consideration, health expenditures and packages tours had the biggest growth.

How much did tourists spend on hotels in Turkey? In the fourth quarter of 2019, the average hotel room cost of foreign guests in Turkey was $73 per night. Citizens of Turkey who are residents abroad preferred to book cheaper hotels - $35 per night. The result of 2019 is similar - $73 vs. $50 per night. The average hotel room price in Turkey for 2019 was $68 per night.

06.02.2020

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