Domestic tourism spending rises 33 percent in second quarter

ISTANBUL

Domestic tourism spending by residents in Türkiye increased 32.6 percent year-on-year to 155 billion Turkish Liras in the April-June period of 2026, according to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) on Oct. 22.

A total of 13.55 million residents traveled domestically during the second quarter. The number of trips involving one or more overnight stays fell 3.6 percent from a year earlier to 16.5 million.

Domestic travelers recorded a total of 85.89 million overnight stays during the quarter, with an average stay of 5.2 nights.

Of the total tourism expenditure, 134.7 billion liras, or 86.9 percent, consisted of personal spending, while package tour expenditures accounted for 20.3 billion liras, or 13.1 percent. Average spending per trip stood at 9,413 liras.

Food and beverage spending accounted for the largest share of total travel expenditure at 31.6 percent, followed by transportation at 25 percent and accommodation at 14.5 percent.

Compared with the same period last year, food and beverage spending increased 39.1 percent, transportation spending rose 28.3 percent, and accommodation spending was up 22.5 percent.

Visiting relatives was the main purpose of travel in the second quarter, accounting for 60.1 percent of all trips. Leisure, entertainment and holidays followed with 33.6 percent, while health-related travel represented 2.3 percent.

Travelers spent the highest number of nights, 61.19 million, at friends’ or relatives’ homes. Hotels ranked second with 11.4 million overnight stays, followed by travelers’ own homes with 8.3 million overnight stays.