Turkey Tourism Statistics 2020

Turkey had 5 million foreign visitors in the first half of 2020. It did not come close to the 2019 peak where 18 million tourists visited the country in the first half of the year. Tourism has been the most dynamic and one of the highest revenues in the economic sectors of Turkey. Its revenues in 2019 hit $35 billion with 50 million tourists arrival. 85% of these tourists are foreigners, and the rest are Turkish residing overseas. Most foreign tourists came from Russia, Ukraine, UK,  Europe, and Asia.

Turkey Tourism Statistics 2020

Tourism Sector Badly Hit by The COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic emerged unprecedented measures for travelers across the globe. There is no exemption for Turkey's economic impact. The country's tourist arrivals in 2020 fell by 75%, according to recent statistics. Revenues sequentially narrowed when countries implement worldwide travel bans. It may take years to reach the same numbers of foreign visitors coming into the country.

Turkey Planning To Resume Tourist Facilities

Turkey resumed the operations of its tourist facilities in June 2020. Ninety percent of hotels and resorts opened their doors for visitors. The government established safety measures to prevent spreading the virus. Inspections and protocols are now in place. The tourism industry of Turkey seeks alternatives as it may take long before the country could cope up with the loss. Most hoteliers expected an extension in the holiday season, but the resurgence of the new COVID variant made it impossible. On the lighter side, the country already received Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccine. There are also upcoming 30 million doses from Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine. This action from the government may boost foreign visitors in 2021. The target number of tourists for this year is 30 to 35 million.

The Culture Climate of Turkey and Tourism Ministry of Turkey stands by its decision in correspondence with the global health crisis. The tourism sector remains hopeful that the country will slowly recover. Hence, Turkey gained the WTTC Safe Travels stamp from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). It aims to prioritize the safety of travelers around the world.

Hotels under the Safe Tourism Certificate Program have to provide one safe isolation room in every fifty standard rooms. Tourists who tested positive in COVID-19 have to stay in a safe isolation room until the test turns negative. Hotels may lose their Safe Tourism Certificate if they fail to comply with the amended protocol as per the Ministry.

The Top 5 City that Tourists Go-To

1-Istanbul %53.73 (2,421,818 )

2-Edirne %14.08 (634,721)

3-Antalya %9.86 (444,227)

4-Artvin %8.05 (362,935)

5-Ankara %1,99 (89,620)

Number of tourist arrivals to Turkey by Months & Years

 

Years
Change %
Months

2018

2019

2020*

2019/2018

2020/2019

January

1 461 570

1 539 496

1 787 435

5.33

16.11

February

1 527 070

1 670 238

1 733 112

9.38

3.76

March

2 139 766

2 232 358

718 097

4.33

-67.83

April

2 655 561

3 293 176

24 238

24.01

-99.26

May

3 678 440

4 022 254

29 829

9.35

-99.26

June

4 505 594

5 318 984

214 768

18.05

-95.96

July

5 671 801

6 617 380

 

16.67

 

August

5 383 332

6 307 508

 

17.17

 

September

4 792 818

5 426 818

 

13.23

 

October

3 755 467

4 291 574

 

14.28

 

November

1 966 277

2 190 622

 

11.41

 

December

1 950 705

2 147 878

 

10.11

 

TOTAL

39 488 401

45 058 286

 

14.11

 

6 MONTHS TOTAL

15 968 001

18 076 506

4 507 479

13.2

-75.06

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