NEWS Tourism        25/12/2020

Number of foreigners visiting Turkey falls 72% in first 11 months of 2020

According to figures published by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the number of foreigners visiting Turkey in November 2020 dropped by 61.9% to 833,991 from 2,190,622 in the same month of the previous year.

 

With restrictions on entries across borders and on international passenger flights having been largely lifted by the beginning of August, it had been hoped that the number of foreign visitors will recover substantially in the following months. Indeed, there have been noticeable improvements in September, October and November compared with previous months. Russian tourists, who have been allowed in as of August 1st, were recorded as 127,116 (a fall of 34%) in November. Visitors from Germany were 34,489 (a fall of 81.5%) and the number of visitors from OECD countries in total were 138,450 (a fall of 74.6%). Visitors from Bulgaria, who mostly come for cross-border shopping, held up comparatively well with 143,269 (a fall of 37.8%). Ukraine was prominent again with 37,098 visitors ( a fall of 17.4%).

 

The total number of foreigners visiting Turkey in the first 11 months of 2020 has fallen 72% to 12,034,883. The total number of foreigners visiting Turkey in the year 2019 had increased by 14.1% to 45,058,286 compared with the previous year. This figure was a record and before the coronvirus crisis Turkey’s tourism industry was expected to grow further this year and in the years to come. The pandemic has come as a big shock and it will take several years before Turkey will have recouped its 2019 strong market share. The tourism industry will need to adapt to social distancing requirements which may well continue even if a vaccine is found for coronavirus. The general average cost of a holiday abroad will also likely be more expensive, discouraging many potential tourists. The cost to Turkey’s tourism industry and to the Turkish economy as a whole will be severe this year.   



Turkey’s net minimum wage has been raised 49% to TL 17,002 (USD 577) as of 01.01.2024       Migration communication helpline 157 available for foreigners in Turkey       Read our homepage articles on developments in the Turkish economy       Turkey’s official annual inflation rate decreases to 48.58% in October 2024       Turkey’s official unemployment rate is 8.6% in September 2024       Read our BUSINESS section for latest sectoral and corporate news       Turkey’s population is 85,372,377 as of 2023 yearend       No. of foreigners visiting Turkey in 2023 increases 10.4% to 49.2 million       Turkey’s private sector foreign debt is USD 164.2 billion as of yearend 2023       Turkey’s economy grew 5.1% in 2023       FDI to Turkey is USD 11 billion in 2023       Turkey’s current account deficit is USD 40.5 billion in 2023