Turkey emerged as one of the world’s leading tourism powers in 2024, taking 4th place on the list of the most visited countries in the world, according to the latest data from the World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism).
Turkey welcomed a total of 56.7 million international visitors, surpassing Italy and moving up one place compared to 2023, Turkey’s Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced on June 23.
This success is interpreted by Turkish authorities as the result of a multi-layered tourism promotion strategy that focuses on the country’s cultural wealth, historical heritage and accessibility throughout the year. “This is a great success, the fruit of our targeted efforts in the field of promotion and infrastructure development,” Ersoy said.
Ambitious goals for 2025
Based on the momentum of 2024, Turkey is setting high goals for this year: 65 million tourists and tourism revenues of $64 billion. It is recalled that in 2023 the country had recorded a record revenue of 61.1 billion dollars from tourism and over 62 million visitors.
However, the latest available data for the first five months of 2025 intensifies concerns about achieving these goals. Foreign tourist arrivals decreased by 1% on an annual basis, reaching 15.63 million, while for May alone, the decline was 1.8% (5.04 million visitors), according to the Turkish Ministry of Tourism.
Decline from key markets
The decline from traditionally strong markets is a cause for concern. Arrivals from Germany, the first country of origin of tourists to Turkey, fell by 6% between January and May (1.74 million tourists). A similar picture was seen in the Russian market, with a decrease of 5.2% (1.72 million), partly attributed to geopolitical uncertainty and the ongoing impact of international sanctions.
In contrast, the United Kingdom market moved upwards, with an increase of 1.3% and 1.22 million visitors in the same period. The British market has developed into one of the most stable for Turkish tourism, with a particular presence on the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts.
Concerns about Iran and Israel
There is also intense concern about developments in the Middle East, as the escalation of tension between Israel and Iran threatens the stability of the region and the flow of tourists from two important markets.
Iran was Turkey’s fourth-largest market in 2024, with 3.28 million visitors (5.2% of the total). Between January and May 2025, the number of Iranian tourists reached 1.18 million, while tourism from Israel increased by 39% compared to last year, reaching 35,000 arrivals.
In 2024, Turkey welcomed approximately 770,000 Israeli visitors, mainly during the summer months. The renewed deterioration of the situation in the region, however, may negatively affect bookings from these two markets in the near future.
International uncertainty and implications
According to the UN Tourism survey for May 2025, travel confidence internationally is being affected by the escalation of geopolitical and trade tensions. This trend seems to be already affecting Turkey, which, despite maintaining a high position in global rankings, is watching with concern the stagnation in key markets and the impact of international developments on its tourism.
As the summer season progresses, the Turkish tourism industry is on alert. Achieving the ambitious 2025 targets will depend both on the effectiveness of state promotion strategies and on maintaining stability in key visitor origin markets.
