Turkey registers record tourist revenues and reaches almost 64 million visitors

Turkey earned a record tourism revenue of $65.23 billion in 2025, an increase of 6.8% compared to the previous year, according to a recent report released just days ago by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK); of that figure, $64.448 billion came from spending by inbound tourists, while $782.44 million was from transit passenger revenues.

According to the report presented by TÜİK, the total number of foreign tourists reached 63.94 million last year – including Turkish citizens living abroad – representing an increase of 2.7% over 2024. In the fourth quarter of 2025 alone, tourism revenues increased by 9.9% compared to the same period last year to around 15.15 billion USD.

Tourism expenditure also grew by 24% year-on-year to over USD 9.6 billion. Average spending per visitor increased by 3.7% to USD 1,008 per person in 2025, while average daily spending remained at around $100. Package tours accounted for 28.2% of total revenues, followed by spending on food and beverages (21.1%) and international transport (12.8%).

The majority of visitors who chose to travel to Turkey did so for travel, leisure, sports and cultural activities, accounting for 67.7% of the total. Visits to family and friends came second with 19.6%, followed by shopping with 5.9%. The number of Turkish citizens who travelled to another country last year also increased by 4.4% to 11.9 million.

More tourists from Russia, Germany, USA and China

According to official data from the Turkish Ministry of Tourism, foreign tourist arrivals increased slightly (0.28%) to 52.76 million, while the number of Turkish citizens living abroad visiting the country jumped by 15.8% to 11.17 million people.

Among foreigners, Russian tourists again constituted the largest group, with 6.9 million arrivals compared to 6.7 million recorded in 2024; Germans ranked 2nd with 6.75 million (up 1.9%), while tourist arrivals from the UK fell by 3.7% to 4.27 million. The number of visitors from Iran also fell by 6.9% compared to 2024 to 3.05 million.

Türkiye also received 2.8 million visitors from Bulgaria, a decrease of 3.8%, too. In contrast, arrivals from the United States showed strong growth, increasing by 9.88% to 1.58 million visitors; and the same happened with Chinese tourists, who increased by 3.8% to over 425,000.

In terms of the top tourist destinations for visitors to Turkey, Istanbul remained the most popular destination for international travellers, welcoming 18.97 million foreign tourists last year, or 36% of all foreign tourists to the Eurasian country. After Istanbul, the second place was taken by the Mediterranean’s leading tourist resort, Antalya, which exceeded 16 million visitors in 2025.

🧿 TOP TOURS IN TURKEY